43 In early 2017, Kosmos announced another major discovery of gas offshore Senegal with the results of the Yakaar-1 exploration well. Located in the Cayar Offshore Profond block approximately 95 kilometers northwest of Dakar in nearly 2,550 meters of water, the well discovered a gross Pmean gas resource of about 15 trillion cubic feet, in-line with pre-drill expectations. MANAGING OUR FOOTPRINT Kosmos opened its office in Dakar in September 2014 to support our drilling program and to establish a visible presence in the country. Kosmos spent more than a year working in fishing communities onshore from our license areas to introduce the company, begin building productive relationships, and prepare for both seismic surveys and drilling activities. Since those early days, we have built a team in Dakar which was comprised predominantly of Senegalese nationals. We have provided development opportunities to our Senegalese staff through training workshops and special assignments to enhance their capabilities. In mid-2017, when BP took over operatorship of Cayar Offshore Profond and Saint Louis Offshore Profond blocks, many of our staff transitioned to work for BP. We currently have a team of three employees in our office in Dakar to continue above-ground activities, such as social investment, and to support the operations that BP leads as the operator. In the first half of 2017, we conducted a geotechnical and geophysical survey in the Saint Louis Offshore Profond license in Senegal and the C8 license in Mauritania. Part of the survey took place in the nearshore area where the Tortue project breakwater will be located – up to 10km from the coast and the town of Saint Louis. It is a densely fished area, with approximately 5,000 artisanal fishing boats operating from Saint Louis. At the beginning of the survey, we held in-person meetings in Saint Louis with the local artisanal fishing council (CLPA), the local fisheries department, and representatives of fishing communities directly. We met with over 200 fishermen to describe the location and duration of the survey, the names and contact information of the survey vessels, the nature and reason for the exclusion zone around the boats, and the phone number and email address for the Kosmos Grievance Mechanism. We also handed out flyers on the survey, broadcast a radio announcement, and deployed a fishing liaison officer (FLO) on board each vessel. Our survey vessels encountered many artisanal boats in the nearshore zone. The density of fishing activities often required our vessels to pause work until artisanal fishers moved on, and the geophysical work often had to stop completely during the hours of darkness. Despite this, there were no significant incidents with artisanal boats. Interactions with fishermen were cordial and cooperative. Our External Affairs staff returned to Saint Louis at least twice a month for the duration of the survey to re-deliver messages about the importance of the exclusion zone around our vessels, gather feedback from fishermen on our operations and how we were handling interactions offshore, and ensure ongoing awareness of the Grievance Mechanism. Kosmos maintains a program to strengthen HSE management with the local and multi-national contractors that support our drilling operations. The program involves bringing together management representatives from each of the contractors supporting Kosmos operations to collaborate on organizational challenges, crew resource management, and showing leadership in safety, health, and the environment. ENGAGEMENT AND LISTENING As part of our commitment to supporting environmental initiatives in the countries where we operate, Kosmos sponsored a workshop on ocean acidification in Senegal through the Future Earth Coasts initiative. The week-long event was held at the Ecole Superieure Polytechnique of the Universite Cheikh-Anta-Diop in Dakar. This was the first face-to-face meeting of the Ocean Acidification Africa Network to discuss mechanisms for knowledge sharing among scientists across Africa and to build momentum for scientific action. Scientists from eighteen coastal African nations – working in chemistry, biology, economics and/or social science – came together to discuss the best way forward for research across the continent. The workshop also included institutions such as the Abidjan UNEP Regional Seas Convention in order to create linkages to future policy development. In addition to the workshop events, fifteen early-career scientists, graduate students, and technicians underwent practical training in the implementation of ocean acidification research. Participants hailed from Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, and Togo. The training was specifically designed to emphasize eastern Atlantic waters to build capacity for the practitioners from West Africa. Kosmos also worked with the government in Senegal to build capacity in environmental management as part of our ESIA processes. As a first step, in 2016 BY IDENTIFYING FUTURE NEEDS, COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES, AND POTENTIAL FUNDING AVENUES TO MAINTAIN AND EXPAND OCEAN ACIDIFICATION RESEARCH THROUGHOUT AFRICA, THIS INITIATIVE IN SENEGAL OFFERED A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE FROM A PROBLEM DEFINING ERA INTO A MUCH-NEEDED SOLUTION SPACE. Shona Paterson Science Officer, Future Earth Coasts