ongoing positive impacts for Equatorial Guinea. Kosmos also initiated an annual social investment program for exploration blocks W, S and EG- 21, which focused on bringing benefits to coastal communities. This included drilling and installing solar-powered water wells in the communities of Handje and Nume, as well as an electric water well in Rio Campo. Access to clean drinking water remains a challenge for many rural communities in Equatorial Guinea, and the three water wells Kosmos installed in 2018 will benefit an estimated 1,300 people. In 2018, Kosmos also funded renovations to the CORAFRICA primary school in Bata, benefitting over 400 children that attend the school, as well as their teachers. After starting to lead our own social investment program, Kosmos noticed that oil and gas operators in Equatorial Guinea were often working in similar areas of social development and suspected that there may be opportunities for stronger coordination and collaboration on social projects, to improve outcomes and enhance delivery for the benefit of the people of Equatorial Guinea. We therefore set up an industry group, bringing together the corporate social responsibility teams of all operators in the country to share lessons learned and coordinate on projects. Two initial meetings of this group were held in 2018 and we expect the process to continue in 2019 and beyond. In addition, KTEGI conducted its own social investment program, which in 2018 included further clean water initiatives, the construction of a primary school in a rural community in the Anisok region, support to a school for deaf children in the city of Bata, and support for the Bioko Marine Turtles Program. The latter is a partnership with Purdue University in the United States that conducts research and activities to improve sea turtle conservation on the island of Bioko. The project includes a broad outreach program to teach Equatoguinean school children on the importance of marine conservation, as well as support for women’s micro- enterprises, creating and selling jewelry made from recycled local materials to improve livelihoods, which creates an alternative source of income and deters turtle poaching. NATIONAL CONTENT Local content and nationalization is a key priority for Kosmos and the government in Equatorial Guinea. There were approximately 78 employees in the KTEGI office in Bata at the end of 2018, 58% of whom were Equatoguineans. Kosmos and its partners are working on a training and nationalization plan to increase this over time. Related to Kosmos’ exploration work in 2018, four local representatives and eleven government representatives were provided with offshore training to work on or observe the seismic survey. Kosmos works with local vendors wherever possible, and generated more than $300,000 of business with Equatoguinean firms in 2018 just through exploration activities related to Blocks W, S, EG-21, and EG-24. We believe this investment indirectly created several dozen local jobs. Kosmos expects to open an office in Malabo in 2019 and create its own small team of employees in Equatorial Guinea, led by the industry’s first Equatoguinean country manager. TRANSPARENCY In 2018, Kosmos engaged with the government of Equatorial Guinea, as well as national and international stakeholders on issues related to transparency, including the potential application by the government to re-join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Kosmos is supportive of this initiative and the dialogue that informs the process. due to the unexpected whale activity, Kosmos decided not to conduct seismic activities over the part of the planned survey area where whales appeared to be most active. As a result of this experience, Kosmos plans to: •  Engage MMOs early in the seismic planning process to consider possible scenarios and pre- determine adaptive mitigation prior to the start of operations •  Revise EIA methodology to account for the absence of information, as gaps in data are common, incorporating where possible relevant information about sensitive species from adjacent countries •  Implement an external technical review process for all future seismic EIAs, and •  Engage, where possible, local NGOs and subject matter experts to capture as much region-specific and unpublished information as possible and incorporate this into the EIA baseline. Kosmos is currently evaluating and interpreting the seismic data to determine potential locations for future exploration drilling. We intend to test a prospect in Block S in the second half of 2019. If successful, we expect to conduct an accelerated tie-back development to the Ceiba FPSO. SOCIAL INVESTMENT Kosmos began implementing a social investment program in 2018. While we grew familiarity and understanding of the local context, our strategy was to continue Hess Corporation’s social investment programs largely focused on education and health. The largest social investment project, the Program for Educational Development of Equatorial Guinea (PRODEGE), established by the government of Equatorial Guinea and Hess Corporation, is now a public-private partnership among Kosmos, Trident and the government. During PRODEGE’s first five years, the program trained two thirds of the country’s primary teachers in instructional skills, established model primary schools, modernized the education information system, and strengthened the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Education and Science. In total more than $100 million will have been invested in education through the PRODEGE program from its inception in 2006 through 2019. In the second half of 2019, PRODEGE will transition to full government ownership, to be run by a new, independent government agency responsible for ensuring the program’s sustainability and Primary school children across Equatorial Guinea benefit from the training provided to teachers as part of the Program for Educational Development of Equatorial Guinea (PRODEGE). Kosmos’ work offshore Equatorial Guinea focuses on infrastructure-led exploration in which new discoveries can be brought into production quickly through existing facilities. 24 25