(Alliance News) - Kistos PLC may be raising its ambitions a year after floating on the AIM market in London and couple months after beefing up its leadership team.
Kistos is an investor in low-carbon energy assets, including in the North Sea.
On Monday, it confirmed it is participating in process being run by Paris-based oil major TotalEnergies SE to sell some of its West Shetland gas assets.
Kistos said that if it becomes the preferred bidder for the TotalEnergies assets, any acquisition would be funded using existing cash reserves.
The company said the West Shetland assets represent one of a number of opportunities it has considered over the past six months.
Kistos listed on AIM in London in November of last year, raising GBP32 million to invest in "energy and the energy transition".
This past October, the company hired Peter Mann as chief executive officer and Richard Slape as chief financial officer, with Founder Andrew Austin reverting to executive chair from interim CEO.
The appointments brought a team back together. Mann and Slape were CEO and CFO respectively of RockRose Energy PLC, a London-listed oil explorer that Austin had chaired until it was acquired by Viaro Energy Ltd last year.
Back in October, Reuters reported that TotalEnergies was looking to sell a third of its 60% stake in the Laggan-Tormore gas fields in the UK North Sea, saying this could raise USD300 million and citing six industry and banking sources.
Berenberg on Monday commented that stake in the Laggan-Tormore project would be a "good strategic fit" for Kistos.
"It would add long-term production and, based on the estimates above, could double the company's reserve base," James Carmichael, an analyst at the German investment bank, said.
"We have not immediately been able to identify emissions data for the Laggan-Tormore project, but based on Kistos's strategy we assume that the emissions intensity is significantly below the North Sea average of 22 [kilogrammes per barrel of oil equivalent]."
Kistos shares closed up 1.3% at 400.00 pence in London on Monday, compared to its initial public offering price of 100p. It has a market capitalisation of just under GBP330 million.
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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Kistos Holdings (KIST)