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Berenberg cuts Kistos price target to 305 (455) pence - 'buy'

The Netherlands to Expand Offshore Gas Extraction and Nuclear Energy

May 17, 2024 11:33 AM

The incoming Dutch government has announced plans to reduce the country’s dependence on “unreliable countries” by expanding offshore natural gas extraction and nuclear energy production, according to Reuters.

The draft coalition pact, presented by the right-wing government on Thursday, said that the Netherlands will adhere to international climate goals but will not impose additional national restrictions.

The government aims to secure long-term contracts for natural gas and build reserves of gas and critical commodities. While the large gas field under the Dutch province of Groningen will remain closed, gas production in the North Sea will be increased. The country’s plans to expand offshore wind appear to be unchanged, while the construction of new wind turbines on land will be de-emphasized.

The government also reaffirmed its commitment to increasing nuclear energy production in the Netherlands. The nuclear reactor in Borssele will remain open, and the construction of two new reactors will continue. Additionally, two more nuclear reactors are planned to be built, with the possibility of further multiple small reactors in public-private partnerships.

These plans reflect the difficulties the Netherlands faced after losing access to Russian gas following the start of the Ukraine war in 2022 and align with the conservative and populist themes of the four political parties in the prospective government.

Don’t forget Charty - is he back from the Indian Ocean yet?

A company’s board is required to look after all shareholders’ best interests. The only shareholders this board ever paid attention to were the institutional ones. Disgraceful!

Shareholders should be able to trust management. These clowns have misled shareholders every step of the way - Tenner needs to be ousted.

A company exists to make money for its shareholders - someone needs to tell Nanoco management that they are running a company and not a university research project!!!

Kistos stock had its “buy” rating restated by Berenberg Bank in a report released on Monday, Digital Look reports. They presently have a GBX 465 ($5.84) price target on the stock. Berenberg Bank’s target price points to a potential upside of 200.00% from the company’s current price.

Glad the employees are happy - Nanoco now just needs to “elevate its shareholders’ experience”!!

Kistos (LSE: KIST) has said it is “now undergoing a recycling of project economics” at the Greater Laggan Area due to changes in “the cost environment.”

Glendronach is the project in question, despite having previously passed all technical stage gates with the operator TotalEnergies and partners.

Previously Kistos has said that “adverse changes” in the fiscal environment within the UK meant that TotalEnergies’ Edradour West would go ahead, rather than the previously expected Glendronach.

Kistos has now said in its 2023 full year results that the Greater Laggan Area (GLA) partners are “progress options for the Edradour West development”.

The North Sea oil and gas firm added: “Both of these projects have so far exhibited accretive economics and would utilise the existing GLA subsea infrastructure and the SGP [Shetland Gas Plant] if they are approved for development.”

Kistos has claimed the Edradour West development will increase its 2P reserves by 3.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe).

TotalEnergies has been working on the Glendronach and Edradour West projects – the former being a 100 million-barrel discovery.

This comes amid rumours that the French Supermajor may be looking to vacate its position in the GLA project.

It was said in September last year that a sale of the assets by TotalEnergies would continue a trend of oil majors and private equity firms leaving the ageing North Sea.

However, the oil and gas major refused to comment on this speculation at the time.

Kistos added that the joint venture partners were also evaluating other infill drilling opportunities on the Laggan and Tormore fields.

Andrew Austin, executive chairman of Kistos, commented: “2023 saw significant changes to the operating environment with commodity prices sharply down on the previous year and an increasingly restrictive fiscal regime in the UK.”

Kistos is not the only UK oil and gas firm to hit out at the UK’s current fiscal policy.

The UK’s largest producer of oil and gas Harbour Energy, alongside others, has previously called out the Energy Prfits Levy which raises the headline rate of tax for oil firms to 75%.

Last week the Kistos chairman said oil and gas firms are being framed as the “devil incarnate” as general election rhetoric ramps up.

Mr Austin later added: “As a management team fully aligned with shareholders, we remain focussed on seeking value for our investments which complement our existing portfolio and offer value-accretive upside.”

The chairman said that his firm has made moves to diversify its portfolio as the UK oil and gas market has become a more challenging environment to invest in.

Last month Kistos acquired a 100% stake in EDF Energy’s gas storage company, resulting in the firm picking up two UK storage sites.

The deal was signed for a total consideration of £25 million, paid from existing cash resources.

stephen *****: north sea windfall tax was right then but now it risks jobs

by erikka askeland

13/05/2024, 7:00 am

© kenny elrick/ dct memsp for aberdeen south stephen *****

snp westminster lead stephen ***** at invest abz. chester hotel. supplied by kenny elrick/ dct

aberdeen south mp stephen ***** said the windfall tax on uk oil and gas had been the “right thing to do” but proposals to increase the burden would stymie investment threatening jobs now and in the future.

*****, the snp’s leader at westminster, was speaking to energy voice at a breakfast event in aberdeen where he was a keynote speaker.

the invest abz event and workshop featured speakers and panellists including *****.

© supplied by kenny elrick/ dct me

snp westminster lead stephen ***** was a key note speaker at invest abz at the chester hotel. kenny elrick/ dct media

the windfall tax imposed by the uk government had been “the right thing to do” in the wake of russia’s invasion of ukraine.

but current – and proposed – tax increases and extensions would “tip the balance” preventing industry investment. this could risk hundreds of thousands of job losses, he said.

jobs today and tomorrow at risk

he said: “i don’t think anyone would shy away from the fact that a windfall tax was the right thing to do following vladimir putin’s invasion of ukraine and the skyrocketing we have seen in relation to energy prices.

“but what has been proposed, either from the uk government with the extension of the windfall tax or the labour party’s proposal in relation to enhancing the windfall tax and removing incentive allowances, is it tips the balance into a position where it is no longer preferential for industry to seek to have investment into new projects.

“if you don’t have that investment into new projects, that means you don’t have the jobs of today which will also be the jobs of tomorrow in the net zero industries.

“the consequences could be huge. it has been spelled out by the industry itself in relation to up to 100,000 jobs that could be on the line.

“it is my job to make sure those in westminster – to people who make those decisions, be it in the conservative party at the moment or potentially a future labour government – understand the consequences of those actions, that we speak up for aberdeen and we speak up for scotland in this regard.

“because this is crucial to our journey, not just to net zero, but to our wider economic future.”

scotland’s new government is “serious”

speaking about the recent change of leadership in the scottish government and its potential impact on the north-east, he added the new first minister john swinney was a “serious politician for serious times”.

swinney became scotland’s first minister in the same week ***** spoke at the energy voice event.

the new first minister replaced humza yousaf. his leadership collapsed after he ended the bute house ag

Oil and gas firms are being framed as the “devil incarnate” as general election rhetoric ramps up, a top North Sea dealmaker has complained.

Andrew Austin said is firm Kistos Holdings (AIM: KIST) is one of several which has pulled out of deals due to political uncertainty and that the windfall tax is being seen as a “victimless” crime as the UK gears up for an election.

Speaking to The Herald, he said: “Part of the problem is both parties are rightly trying to chase the 18 to 24 year old vote and in their minds climate change and oil and gas companies are the devil incarnate, therefore taxing them is effectively a victimless crime; that’s what’s driving it on both sides of the house.”

Investment ‘off the table’

Mr Austin, who built up his former company RockRose Energy into a £250m business, said committing fresh capital to projects in the North Sea “is definitely off the table” until there’s certainty as to “the Government and the Government’s position”.

There have been four changes to the windfall tax since 2022 under the ruling Conservative government, while Labour, which is leading the polls, has promised a “proper windfall tax” should it win power.

Last month, the CEO of Hartshead Energy told Energy Voice the uncertainty on Labour’s plans have led to it cutting project team jobs.

Meanwhile the party’s pledge – which includes cutting investment allowances while hiking and extending the levy – has led to warnings it will kill off North Sea investment.

Kistos’ partner in the West of Shetland, TotalEnergies, told Energy Voice last year that the uncertainty is impacting potential Final Investment Decisions for their projects in the region.

Mr Austin told The Herald that the windfall tax is not making Shell or BP the victim.

“The victims are the small independents who effectively have become the mantle-holders for the North Sea as the majors and super-majors have exited.

“You’ve seen it with Harbour, with Ithaca with Serica and us. These are the guys that are getting hurt.”

UK quantum dot company Nanoco has returned cash to shareholders through a tender offer after it received the final tranche of payments from Samsung in relation to an out-of-court settlement over an IP dispute.

Quantum dots are nanoparticles used to improve LED display lighting. The Korean electronics company was alleged to have breached Nanoco’s IP by using the technology. Last year, the companies came to an agreement in which Samsung would pay Nanoco $150mn (£122mn) in two tranches. As part of the deal, Samsung would be allowed to licence the technology.

At the start of this year, Nanoco received the second payment worth $71.75mn and decided to return £30mn to shareholders through the tender offer, which was pitched at a 25 per cent premium to the share price at the time it was announced. Among those cashing out were Swiss private bank Lombard Odier, whose stake has almost halved to 8.5 per cent, and chief technology officer Nigel Pickett.

Pickett sold 4.5mn shares at the offer price of 24p, earning over £1mn. The share price has since slipped back to 20p.

Management said the rest of the funds would be “invested in operational capability, enhancing future growth prospects, and improving gross margins”. This investment will focus on building out a new wafer device development and testing facility which the company says will be able to shorten research cycles by up to a third.

Nanoco is still in the early stages of its development. In the six months to January, it made just $4mn in revenue, and only $1mn in underlying revenue when the licence payments from Samsung are taken out. However, FactSet analyst consensus is forecasting revenue to reach $10.7mn by 2025 as the operational investment starts to take effect.

I see that Trouble beat me to sharing the link!

For Lord WM

https://www.verdict.co.uk/nanoco-group-gets-grant-for-heterostructure-photodetector-with-metal-oxide-interlayer-and-2d-materials/

Nanoco Group has been granted a patent for a photodetector with a unique design involving two-dimensional quantum dots (2D QDs) dispersed in charge transport materials. The heterostructure photodetector includes specific materials like zinc, titanium, vanadium, or nickel in the interlayer, offering enhanced performance. A recently granted patent (Publication Number: US11903225B2) discloses a heterostructure photodetector designed with specific layers and materials to enhance its performance. The photodetector includes a first electrode, a first photoabsorbing layer made of a two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets, an interlayer made of a metal oxide with zinc, titanium, vanadium, or nickel, a second photoabsorbing layer made of 2D quantum dots (QDs), and a second electrode. The combination of materials and layers aims to create a built-in electric field for improved functionality. Additionally, the photodetector may include a transition layer between the two photoabsorbing layers, each layer may contain charge transport materials, and the overall thickness of the layers ranges from about 50 nm to 800 nm.

Furthermore, the patent details specific configurations and compositions for the photoabsorbing layers, including the percentage of 2D nanosheets and 2D QDs present in each layer. The patent also mentions the thickness and dimensions of the nanosheets, emphasizing their properties for optimal performance. Additionally, the inclusion of charge transport materials in each layer further enhances the photodetector's capabilities. Overall, the patent highlights a novel design for a heterostructure photodetector that leverages unique materials and layering techniques to improve its efficiency and sensitivity in detecting light.

NGR and his puppets have ruined this board. Is there a “block and ignore” function that we see on other platforms?

NGR - It’s only been deleted because you reported it!

We are close to commencing the farm-out process for licence EG-08 in Equatorial Guinea as we look to bring in a partner for drilling.

We secured a stake in EG-08 in Dec 23 and believe it has enormous near-term, infrastructure-led, exploration potential. #EOG

Funny - that’s exactly what NGR would say - Hold on - he just did!

Congrats Xen0n (NGR?) on your first post.