Panoro Energy’s shares declined 4.06% to $28.35 in pre-market trading on Tuesday after the company released its H1 2026 pro forma financial update and provided details on the pending acquisition of a 9.09% stake in Ivory Coast’s CI-27 gas block. The stock had closed at $29.55 on Monday.
The Oslo-listed explorer reported pro forma H1 2026 revenue of $130 million and EBITDA of $68 million. Year-to-date IFRS capital expenditure totaled $12.5 million, while core 2026 spending guidance remained unchanged at $55 million. Full-year pro forma capital expenditure guidance was set at $72 million, including the CI-27 acquisition. Operating costs were reported at $23 per barrel, with non-recurrent capital expenditure ranging from $3 to $5 per barrel, resulting in total production costs of $26 to $28 per barrel.
Production metrics showed net output excluding CI-27 at 17,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), while pro forma production including CI-27 reached approximately 20,800 boe/d. Management reiterated a long-term production target of 23,000 boe/d by 2027. Q3 lifting guidance was set between 1.3 million and 1.5 million barrels from inventory as of June 30.
The CI-27 transaction involves Panoro acquiring an indirect 9.09% interest in the offshore gas-producing block via its DNO subsidiary, which holds a 33.33% stake in Foxtrot International. The total consideration is $80 million, with management noting an expected closing price of about $70 million. The deal is slated to take effect from January 1, 2025, with completion anticipated by the end of Q3 2025. Funding will be structured through the issuance of 7 million new shares to DNO at a price of 28.77 NOK per share, representing approximately 4.9% of Panoro’s outstanding shares post-issuance. Additionally, a $50 million senior unsecured bond with a 10.25% coupon maturing in 2031 was issued.
The CI-27 asset is projected to generate between $17 million and $20 million in annual free cash flow, with net production of roughly 3,334 boe/d in H1 2026. Net 2P and 2C resources for Panoro’s stake stand at 14.4 million BOE. The block operates under a long-term production-sharing contract expiring in 2034, featuring a take-or-pay clause of 140 million standard cubic feet per day and a minimum fixed gas price of $6 per MMBtu, currently indexed to about $6.50 per MMBtu.
Panoro’s Chairman Julien Balkany highlighted the company’s strengthened diversification, noting that combined 2P plus 2C resources have increased nearly eightfold to 183 million BOE since 2018. CEO Eric d’Argentré emphasized the resilience of Panoro’s cost structure, citing total production costs of $26 to $28 per barrel as a buffer against low oil price environments. The company also announced a quarterly shareholder distribution of NOK 50 million, payable by September 21, 2026, bringing total distributions since 2018 to NOK 950 million, equivalent to about 25% of its current market value.
