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Tethys Oil
Annual Report 2020

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FY2020 Annual Report · Tethys Oil
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Tethys Oil
Annual Report
2020

Annual General Meeting

Contents

Due  to  the  coronavirus  (Covid-19)  and  the  restric-
tions that have been introduced to limit the spread 
of  infection,  the  Board  of  Directors  has  decided 
that the Annual General Meeting on 19 May 2021 
shall  be  conducted  without  the  physical  presence 
of  shareholders,  proxies  or  third  parties  and  that 
the  shareholders  shall  have  the  opportunity  to 
exercise  their  voting  rights  only  by  postal  voting 
in  advance.  For  more  information,  please  visit 
www.tethysoil.com.

4
Letter to shareholders 
5
Tethys Oil 
8
Mission, Vision and Values 
9
Expanding reserve and resource base 
10
Operations 
21
Corporate Governance Report 
29
Board of Directors 
31
Executive management 
32
The Tethys Oil share 
36
Payments to authorities 
37
Key financial data 
38
Definitions and abbreviations 
39
Administration report 
Financial statements for the group 
47
Financial statements for the parent company  51
55
Notes 
69
Assurance 
70
Auditor’s report 
73
Financial information 
74
Address 

The Sustainability Report is a separate document, 
available on www.tethysoil.com.

Strong operational results  
despite a turbulent year

Tethys Oil increases and optimises its portfolio of Omani assets 
through farm-in, farm-out and a new licence

mmbo
30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Highest 2P reserves ever at 26.9 mmbo

RRR 171%

RRR 114%

-4.7

5.4

26.1

-4.1

5.0

26.9

RRR 177%

RRR 116%

RRR 120%

21.4

-4.4

5.1

22.0

17.3

-4.3

7.6

25.4

12.5

13.5

13.9

2P
2016

Prod.

Add.

2P
2017

2C
2017

Prod.

Add.

2P
2018

2C
2018

Prod.

Add.

2P
2019

2C
2019

Prod.

Add.

2P
2020

2C
2020

n  2P Reserves (Proven and Probable Reserves) 

n  Production 

  n  Revisions and discoveries 

  n  2C (Contingent Resources)
  n  RRR = Reserve replacement ratio 2P

Proposal: Continued distribution to shareholders  
without holding back on plans for growth

SEK/share
8

6

4

2

0

2

1

3

1

1

4

2

6

2

3

2

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

n  Ordinary dividend
n  Extraordinary distribution
n  Dividend yield at announcement

12%

9%

6%

3%

0%

2

2

2021
(proposal
to AGM)

Letter to shareholders

Letter to shareholders

Dear friends and investors,
When I addressed you a year ago the pan-
demic had just started to sweep the world 
and  we  faced  unprecedented  measures  to 
try  to  contain  it.  The  year  before  us  was 
fraught  with  uncertainty  as  individuals, 
businesses and governments tried to cope 
with the situation. But a year later we can 
conclude  that  cope  we  did;  and  through 
hard  work,  dedication  and  good  fortune 
Tethys Oil came through the year in much 
better  shape  than  we  could  have  hoped 
for. The  pandemic,  and  the  extraordinary 
situation it has caused, is by no means over 
and  we  must  and  will  continue  to  abide 
by the coronavirus protocols put in place. 
But there are vaccines being rolled out, the 
world economy is picking up and oil prices 
have rebounded so even if the light at the 
end of the tunnel is faint, there is light!!

But  let  us  now  turn  to  the  year  in  ques-
tion,  2020,  in  more  detail.  Our  portfolio 
developed with one new block added, and 
both a farm-in and a farm-out agreement 
announced.  Operations  on  our  flagship 
asset, Blocks 3&4, showed both resilience 
and robustness. I am extremely pleased and 
grateful to report that our main targets, to 
ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our 
co-workers and partners while maintaining 
an operational momentum as close to nor-
mal as possible, were successfully reached. 

In  July  we  increased  our  Omani  explora-
tion  portfolio  when  we  as  operator  were 
awarded 100 percent interest in the explo-
ration  and  production  sharing  agreement 
covering  Block  58,  onshore  Oman.  This 
block  borders  our  other  operated  block, 
Block 49, and holds some very interesting 
geological  features  that  we  hopefully  can 
upgrade  to  drillable  prospects  in  the  not-
too-distant  future.  We  will,  in  due  time, 
drill at least two exploration wells, but first 
we will start with reprocessing of legacy 3D 
seismic  data  and  later  in  2021  conduct  a 
new 3D seismic acquisition.

On  Block  49,  in  November  2020  we 
entered  into  a  farm-out  agreement  with 
EOG  Resources  Inc,  whereby  EOG 
acquired 50 percent interest in the licence 
in exchange for refunding all historic costs 
and  the  Thameen-1  exploration  well,  up 
to a combined amount of MUSD 15. The 

Thameen-1 well, the culmination of three 
years  of  preparatory  exploration  work, 
started drilling on the last day of the year. 
In  the  first  quarter  2021,  the  Thameen-1 
well was drilled to its final total depth and 
a well testing programme was conducted. 
No  flows  were  recorded  at  surface,  but 
logs indicated a gross hydrocarbon column 
of  close  to  40  metres. That  was  a  slightly 
smaller step forward then we were hoping 
for, but the well results so far substantially 
upgrade  the  hydrocarbon  potential  of 
Block 49. When all the data from the Tha-
meen well has been compiled we will plan 
the next steps for the well and for Block 49 
in general.

The work conducted in 2020 on Block 56 
confirmed our enthusiasm for this poten-
tially  very  prolific  block.  In  the  autumn 
2020 we took the opportunity to increase 
our stake in the licence from 20 to 65 per-
cent  and  also  assume  operatorship.  That 
Tethys  Oil  will  be  operating  three  blocks 
onshore the Sultanate of Oman is a great 
honour and one that comes with a lot of 
responsibility.  But  being  operator  also 
offers some great opportunities. The strong 
technical team we have built in Oman over 
our  ten  years  in  the  Sultanate  will  now 

4

have a chance to really prove its mettle in 
leading  the  partner  group  in  the  work  of 
bringing oil out of Block 56.

While we worked hard on increasing and 
optimizing our portfolio of Omani explo-
ration  assets  in  2020,  the  work  on  Block 
3&4 had to be shifted during the spring. 
In  April  2020,  and  as  a  response  to  the 
sharp  drop  in  oil  prices,  increased  uncer-
tainty  resulting  from  the  effects  of  the 
global  Covid-19  pandemic  and  produc-
tion limitations, plans were put in place to 
significantly  reduce  or  defer  expenditure 
on Blocks 3&4 for the remainder of 2020. 
The  aim  of  the  reductions  was  to  ensure 
the  operations  on  Blocks  3&4  remained, 
at minimum, cash flow neutral for the full 
year  at  the  prevailing  market  conditions. 
And  these  goals  were  met!  We  managed 
to  reach  a  healthy  production  of  11,336 
barrels  of  oil  per  day  at  the  same  time  as 
investments  and  operating  expenses  came 
down, resulting in a positive cash flow of 
MUSD 6.7. We report revenues and other 
income of MUSD 101.1 and our EBITDA 
amounted to MUSD 50.4, and we ended 
the year with a strong net cash position of 
MUSD 55.1.

Tethys Oil

The  reserves  on  Blocks  3&4  have  never 
been higher than at the end of 2020. For 
the ninth year in a row Tethys Oil’s Reserve 
Replacement Ratio exceeded 100 percent, 
and this despite deferred investments and 
reduced exploration efforts during the year. 
At  the  end  of  2020,  2P  reserves  stood  at 
26.9  million  barrels,  with  the  2P  reserves 
replacement ratio reaching 120 percent.

So,  despite  all  the  challenges,  Tethys  Oil 
managed,  through  hard  work,  focused 
action  and  a  cautious  attitude  by  all  our 
co-workers, to turn 2020 into quite a good 
year. Reflecting the strong operational and 
financial position of Tethys Oil, the board 
of directors is proposing an ordinary divi-

dend of SEK 2.00 per share and a further 
SEK 2.00 through an extraordinary distri-
bution, in total MUSD 15.

So stay with us as we continue on the path 
of growth from our enhanced asset portfo-
lio  of  promising  growth  opportunities  in 
the  Sultanate  of  Oman.  2021  should  see 
five  exploration/appraisal  wells  and  new 
seismic studies conducted across our asset 

portfolio all funded by our profitable pro-
duction  asset  while  leaving  room  to  con-
tinue to fund our growth and our distribu-
tions to shareholders.

Stockholm, 9 April 2021

Magnus Nordin
Managing Director

Tethys Oil

Tethys Oil is a Swedish oil company with 
focus  on  onshore  areas  with  known  oil 
discoveries. The company’s core area is the 
Sultanate  of  Oman,  where  it  holds  inter-
ests  in  Blocks  3&4,  Block  49,  Block  56 

and Block 58. Tethys Oil has net working 
interest 2P Reserves of 26.9 mmbo and net 
working interest 2C Contingent Resources 
of 13.9 mmbo and had an average oil pro-
duction  of  11,336  barrels  per  day  from 

Blocks  3&4  during  2020  (Tethys  Oil’s 
share  of  gross  production,  before  govern-
ment  take).  The  head  office  is  located  in 
Stockholm  and  the  Company’s  shares  are 
listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (TETY).

Oman

Area
(km²)

Blocks 3&4

29,130

Block 49

Block 56

Block 58

15,439

5,808

4,557

Interest

Phase

30%

50%*

65%*

100%

Production/
exploration

Exploration

Exploration

Exploration

2P Reserves 
(mmbo)

2C Contingent 
Resources  
(mmbo)

Average daily 
production  
2020 (bbl)

26.9

13.9

11,336

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

*  Interest percentage reflects changes that occurred after year end 2020 through a farm-in on Block 56 and a farm-out on block 49. The agreements were announced in 2020 and 

received final government approval in the first quarter 2021.

5

Operational and financial summary

MUSD (unless specifically stated) 

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

Average daily production Blocks 3&4,  
before government take, bbl

Average selling price per barrel, USD

Revenue and other income

EBITDA

Net cash

Investments in oil and gas properties

Dividend, SEK per share

Extraordinary distribution to shareholders, SEK per share

Market capitalisation at the end of the period, MSEK

2P Reserves in Oman (million barrels of oil)

2C Contingent Resources in Oman (million barrels of oil)

11,336

12,832

11,767

12,162

12,121

47.7

101.1

50.4

55.1

45.4

2.00

3.00

1,626

26.9

13.9

64.2

150.8

92.9

75.1

65.2

2.00

6.00

70.5

157.3

106.6

73.1

55.8

2.00

4.00

51.8

119.3

78.2

42.0

40.4

1.00

–

3,063

2,325

2,337

26.1

13.5

25.4

12.5

22.0

17.3

40.5

87.1

44.0

39.0

48.5

1.00

3.00

2,799

21.4

–

The Blocks 3&4 success story

Tethys  Oil  acquired  an  interest  in  Blocks  3&4  in 
2007 and, together with the other partners in the 
licence, initiated oil production on the Blocks three 
years later. In August 2020 a very significant mile-
stone  was  passed  when  accumulated  gross  pro-
duction from the Blocks exceeded the 100 million 

barrel  mark,  while  annually  increasing  reserves. 
The  oil  produced  on  Blocks  3&4  has  created  sig-
nificant  value  for  the  shareholders  of  Tethys  Oil, 
its partners in the licence, and, not least, the peo-
ple of Oman in the form of tax revenue and local 
employment.

First exploration well on Block 49

In late 2017, Tethys Oil expanded its operations in 
Oman when it was awarded the exploration licence 
and operatorship of Block 49. In 2018, Tethys Oil 
conducted  a  seismic  campaign  in  the  north-east-
ern  part  of  the  licence  area.  In  2019,  interpreta-
tion  and  mapping  of  the  new  seismic  resulted  in 
one  drillable  prospect  being  defined.  And  on  the 

very  last  day  of  2020,  the  Thameen-1  well  was 
spudded. In the first quarter 2021, the Thameen-1 
well was drilled to its final total depth and a well 
testing programme was conducted. No flows were 
recorded  at  surface,  but  logs  indicated  a  gross 
hydrocarbon column of close to forty metres.

Increased interest in Block 56 and Tethys Oil assumes operatorship

In 2019, Tethys Oil announced the 20 percent inter-
est farm in on Block 56 onshore in the Sultanate of 
Oman. The farm-in to Block 56 is both a strategic 
and technical fit for Tethys Oil and was the result 
of  an  intensive  review  of  available  opportunities. 
The work conducted in 2020 confirmed the enthu-

siasm for the Block, and in October 2020 Tethys Oil 
agreed to acquire another 45 percent interest and 
assume operatorship of the block. The transaction 
was  finalised  in  2021.  During  the  second  three 
years exploration phase of Block 56, Tethys Oil will 
be in the driver’s seat as the operator of the Block.

Block 58 – new exciting exploration licence

The  new  exploration  licence,  Block  58,  was 
awarded to Tethys Oil in July 2020. The Block bor-
ders  Tethys  Oil’s  other  operated  block,  Block  49 
and  holds  some  very  interesting  geological  fea-
tures  that  hopefully  will  be  upgraded  to  drillable 
prospects  in  the  not-too-distant  future.  The  work 

with  reprocessing,  integrating  and  further  inter-
preting existing seismic data was initiated imme-
diately  in  order  to  increase  the  understanding  of 
the Block in general, but also aim to firm up the 
promising leads already identified.

66

Consession boundaries  
Sultanate of Oman
Tethys  Oil  holds  a  30  percent  interest  in 
Blocks  3&4,  where  CC  Energy  Develop-
ment S.A.L. (Oman branch) is the operator. 
Tethys Oil holds 50* percent interest in and 
is the operator of Block 49. Tethys Oil holds 
a 65* percent interest in and is the operator 
of Block 56. Tethys Oil also holds 100 per-
cent interest in and is the operator of Block 
58.  These  blocks  cover  an  area  of  54,934 
km2, corresponding to 18% of Oman’s total 
areal extent, which makes Tethys Oil one of 
the  largest  concession  holders  in  Oman  in 
terms of acreage.

*  Interest percentage reflects changes that occurred after 
year end 2020 through a farm-in on Block 56 and a farm-
out on block 49. The agreements were announced in 
2020 and received final government approval in the first 
quarter 2021.

3
CC Energy

3

4
CC Energy

49
Tethys Oil

58
Tethys Oil

56
Tethys Oil

100

50

0

100 kilometers

Source: Sultanate of Oman Ministry of Energy and Minerals 

7

!!52ENI6PDO59Open42Shell41Open18Open38Open36EOG43BOpen4CC Energy31ARA12Total49Tethys Oil47ENI39Petrotel55Shell43AOpen50Masirah Oil LtdNLS66Open51Occidental54Lasso61BP56Tethys Oil58Tethys Oil40Open 74Open73Open7HCF77ENI3CC Energy75Open9Occidental62 OilOpen72Occidental15HCF44ARA30Occidental48OQ17Petrotel 57Petroleb67Petrotel62Occidental60OQ5Daleel76Open27Occidental70Maha65OccidentalVacantOpen53Occidental71Majan8MOGC8MOGCMadha10BOpen11BOpen10AOpen11AOpenMuscatSalalahMusandamMission, 
Vision and 
Values

Mission
Tethys Oil is an oil and gas exploration and 
production company with a primary objec-
tive of creating shareholder value working 
across  the  whole  upstream  industry  life-
cycle  of  exploration,  appraisal,  develop-
ment  and  production.  A  central  belief  in 
Tethys Oil’s business model is to explore for 
and produce oil and gas in an economically, 
socially,  and  environmentally  responsible 
way. The Group applies the same standards 
to its activities worldwide to satisfy both its 
commercial and ethical requirements as per 
Tethys Oil’s Code of Conduct.

Vision
Tethys Oil’s vision is that growth continues 
through  the  Group’s  exploration  success. 
Tethys  Oil  seeks  to  build,  maintain  and 
expand  a  well-balanced  and  self-financed 
portfolio of oil assets, offering a measured 
exposure to onshore production, develop-
ment, appraisal and exploration potential. 
The focus today and tomorrow is on geog-
raphies  with  proven  petroleum  systems, 
existing infrastructure, established institu-
tional frameworks and low political risk. In 
all its activities, Tethys Oil seeks a balanced 
approach to risk.

Tethys  Oil  seeks  to  be  a  sustainable  and 
profitable  business 
long-term.  Sustain-
ability  means  running  a  business  that  is 
not  only  profitable  but  is  aligned  with 
the  requirements  and  expectations  of 
stakeholders  both  within  and  outside  the 
Group.

Values
Tethys  Oil’s  corporate  culture  emanates 
from  the  Company’s  Scandinavian  roots. 
It is the responsibility of Tethys Oil’s man-
agement to foster a corporate culture that 
promotes  the  values  and  principles  out-
lined  in  Tethys  Oil’s  Code  of  Conduct. 
Tethys Oil aims to act in all respects in a 
responsible,  fair,  accountable  and  ethical 
manner towards all aspects of the environ-
ment  and  to  all  individuals  and  entities 
that the Group encounters in its course of 
doing  business. Tethys  Oil  aims  to  apply 
the same standards to all its activities wher-
ever they are carried out.

It is of vital importance to Tethys Oil that 
the Group maintains and further builds on 
its reputation as a responsible and forward- 
looking  corporate  citizen  in  all  countries 
where  Tethys  Oil  has  a  presence  and  in 
relation  to  all  stakeholders,  may  they  be 
shareholders, employees, contractors, part-
ners or someone else.

8

Expanding reserve and resource base

Reserve and resource base continue to expand – 
nine consecutive years with growing reserves

Tethys Oil’s net working interest Reserves in Blocks 3&4 Oman 
as per 31 December 2020 amount to 26,922 thousand barrels of 
oil (“mbo”) of proven and probable Reserves (2P). The 2P reserve 
replacement  ratio  amounts  to  120  percent.  In  addition,  Tethys 
Oil’s  net  working  interest  resources  oil  base  in  Oman  amounts 
to  13,904  mbo  of  2C  Contingent  Resources.  The  Company’s 
2020  and  2019  year-end  Reserves  reports  were  audited  by  ERC 
Equipoise  Limited  (“ERCE”)  as  independent  qualified  reserves 
evaluator.

Development of Reserves, Blocks 3&4 (Audited)

mbo

1P

2P

3P

Total 31 December 2019

17,336

26,112

36,919

Based on ERCE’s model and current oil price assumptions, Tethys 
Oil’s  net  entitlement  Reserves  (Reserves  after  government  take) 
amount to 8,940 mbo of 1P, 12,176 mbo of 2P and 15,321mbo 
of 3P.

In  addition  to  Reserves, Tethys  Oil  also  announces  net  working 
interest Contingent Resources. The bulk of the estimated Contin-
gent Resources are contained in the Ulfa, Samha and Erfan fields 
with a small contribution from the Anan-1 exploration well, a new 
discovery at the end of the 2020. Development of the Contingent 
Resources in the discoveries is continued contingent upon the on-
going appraisal programme, a committed work programme as well 
as budget to access these resources.

Production 2020

Additions and revisions 

-4,149

4,761

-4,149

4,959

-4,149

Contingent resources, Blocks 3&4 (Audited)

5,104

mbo

1C

2C

3C

Total 31 December 2020

17,948

26,922

37,874

Total 31 December 2020

5,022

13,904

27,911

Reserve replacement ratio, %

115%

120%

123%

Additions  and  revisions  include  maturation  of  Contingent 
Resources to Reserves from the ongoing appraisal programme of 
Ulfa and Erfan fields as well as upside revisions of the Reserves on 
the Farha South and Shahd fields.

The  audit  of  the  Reserves  in  Oman  has  been  conducted  using 
2018  Petroleum  Resources  Management  System  (PRMS2018), 
sponsored  by  the  Society  of  Petroleum  Engineers  (SPE),  World 
Petroleum  Council  (WPC),  American  Association  of  Petroleum 
Geologists  (AAPG)  and  Society  of  Petroleum  Evaluation  Engi-
neers (SPEE).

Reserve replacement ratio, %

200

150

100

50

0

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Contingent resources

Total 31 December 2020, mmbo
28

1C

2C

3C

21

14

7

0

99

Operations

Operations

Tethys Oil’s core area Oman

Oman – part of an oil-rich region
The  Sultanate  of  Oman,  located  in  the 
south-eastern  part  of  the  Arabian  Penin-
sula, overlooks the Arabian Sea, the Sea of 
Oman and the Arabian Gulf. It also over-
looks the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the 
point of entry to the Arabian Gulf. Oman’s 
neighbours include United Arab Emirates, 
Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Oman  is  a  beautiful  country,  combining 
white  sand  beaches,  rolling  desert  dunes 
and  expansive  mountain  ranges.  Oman 
is  also  the  oldest  independent  state  in 
the  Arab  world  with  a  long  and  exciting 
history  over  thousands  of  years.  Modern 
archaeological  discoveries  suggest  that 
humans settled in Oman during the Stone 
Age, ie more than 10,000 years ago.

Oman, a prolific oil region 
Most importantly for Tethys Oil, Oman is 
also  a  major  oil  nation,  the  largest  in  the 
Middle East that is not a member of OPEC. 
Oman has about five billion barrels of esti-
mated  proven  oil  reserves,  ranking  Oman 
as  the  seventh  largest  proved  oil  reserve 
holder in the Middle East and the 21 larg-
est  in  the  world  (BP  Statistical  Review  of 

World  Energy,  June  2020).  Oman’s  crude 
oil  and  condensate  production  amounted 
in 2019 to 971,000 barrels per day.

The  largest  producer  in  Oman  is  Petro-
leum  Development  Oman 
(“PDO”), 
which  holds  Block  6.  Block  6  covers  an 
area of 75,119 km2 in north, central and 
south Oman. PDO produces in excess of 
600,000 barrels of oil per day, correspond-
ing to 60 percent of the total production in 
Oman. PDO is owned by the Omani gov-
ernment (60 percent), Shell (34 percent), 
Total  (4  percent),  and  PTTEP  (2 per-
cent). Occidental Petroleum (Oxy), is the 
second-largest  producer  in  Oman,  with  a 
production  of  some  245,000  bopd.  Oxy 
is producing from Blocks 9, 27 and 62 in 
northern  Oman  and  the  Mukhaizna  field 
in Block 53 in the south.

The total exports of oil and condensates dur-
ing 2019 amounted to 310 million barrels. 
People’s Republic of China topped the list 
of  the  countries  importing  crude  oil  from 
Oman, with 78 percent, followed by Japan 
with  8  percent.  The  rest  of  the  countries 
represented 14 percent of the total exports 
of crude oil and condensates in 2019.

Tethys Oil in Oman
With  the  desire  and  ambition  to  become 
a  dedicated  and  successful  player  in  the 
Omani  oil  and  gas  industry,  Tethys  Oil 
acquired  an  interest  in  the  licence  for 
Blocks 3&4 in 2007. 14 years later, Tethys 
has grown a strong presence in the coun-
try  holding  interests  in  five  blocks,  three 
of which are since 2021 operated. With a 
skilled technical team in Muscat, Tethys is 
looking  to  capitalise  on  its  long  explora-
tion and production experience in the Sul-
tanate of Oman.

Blocks  3&4  cover  an  area  of  29,130  km2 
in the central-eastern part of Oman. Tethys 
Oil  has  a  30  percent  interest  in  Blocks 
3&4. Its partners are Mitsui E&P Middle 
East B.V. with 20 percent and the operator 
CC  Energy  Development  S.A.L.  (Oman 
branch) holding the remaining 50 percent.

In 2017, Tethys Oil’s operations expanded 
with  the  award  of  the  exploration  licence 
for  Block  49.  Block  49  covers  an  area  of 
15,439  km2  in  the  south-western  part 
of  Oman,  bordering  Saudi  Arabia.  In 
November  2020, Tethys  Oil  entered  into 
an  agreement  with  EOG  Resources  Inc. 

10

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Musandam

Sohar

SULTANATE 
OF OMAN

Muscat

Sur

Block 3

Block 3

Block 4

Dhqum

Block 49

Block 58

Block 56

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(“EOG”) for EOG to obtain a 50 percent 
interest  in  Block  49.  After  the  agreement 
was finalized in 2021, Tethys Oil holds 50 
percent of Block 49 and is the operator of 
the Block.

In October 2019, Tethys Oil’s operations in 
Oman expanded even further with the 20 
percent farm-in to the exploration licence 
Block 56. In 2020, Tethys Oil entered into 
an  agreement  to  increase  its  stake  to  65 
percent through another farm-in and also 
assume operatorship of the block. Block 56 
covers an area of 5,808 km2 in the south-

eastern part of Oman some 200 km south 
of  Blocks  3&4.  Partners  are  Medco  (5 
percent),  Biyaq  (25  percent)  and  Intaj  (5 
percent).

over  54,934  km2,  corresponding  to  18% 
of  Oman’s  total  area.  That  makes  Tethys 
Oil one of the largest concession holders in 
Oman in terms of acreage.

In July 2020, Tethys Oil was awarded the 
exploration licence for Block 58. The block 
covers an area of 4,557 km2 in the south-
ern part of Oman adjacent to Tethys Oil’s 
Block 49. Tethys holds 100 percent inter-
est in the licence and is the operator.

The combined area of Blocks 3&4, Block 
49,  Block  56  and  Block  58  amounts  to 

The  partner  group  on  Blocks  3&4  pro-
duced 37,800 bopd in 2020, correspond-
ing to about four percent of Oman’s total 
production.  The  produced  oil  is  lifted 
at  the  Mina  Al  Fahal  Terminal  in  Mus-
cat, on the Sea of Oman, and it therefore 
never  needs  to  pass  through  the  Strait  of 
Hormuz.

Blocks 3&4 – robust and reliable production with 
exploration potential

In  August  2020,  a  decade  after  the 
production  was  launched  at  Blocks 
3&4,  a  very  significant  milestone 
was  passed  when  gross  production 
from the Blocks passed the 100 mil-
lion  barrel  mark.  When  production 
started  in  2010,  that  number  would 
have been considered to be unreach-
able. But it was not, and just before all 
the  global  turmoil  resulting  from  the 
pandemic  started  in  2020,  the  pro-
duction  reached  a  new  all-time  high. 
And  more  importantly  for  the  future: 
on-block  reserves  have  never  been 
higher  than  at  the  end  of  2020  and 
the future prospectivity of the licence 
remains high.

First oil at Farha South
The  drilling  of  the  Farha  South-3  well 
on Block 3 in early 2009 was the starting 
point  for  the  successful  exploration  and 
development of Blocks 3&4. Through this 
well, the Farha South oil field was discov-
ered, which has been the star performer on 
the Blocks ever since.

The oil of the Farha South is not trapped 
in  one  large  continuous  reservoir.  It  is 
instead  trapped  in  a  large  number  of 
smaller, usually adjacent fault blocks. The 
main  producing  layer  at  the  Farha  South 
field is the Barik sandstone, at an average 
depth of 1,600 metres. The low content of 
gas combined with the absence of a water 

drive  in  the  Barik  reservoir  makes  water 
injection  necessary. Water  is  injected  into 
the reservoir via injection wells in order to 
maintain  the  pressure  and  thereby  stimu-
late  production.  About  30  fault  blocks 
have  been  drilled  and  put  in  production, 
and the majority has been developed with 
water  injection.  The  oil  from  the  Barik 
reservoir is of high quality, more than 40 
degrees API, and contains limited sulphur.

Saiwan East – the second early 
discovery
Shortly  after  the  Farha  South  oil  field 
was  discovered,  the  SE-2  well  resulted  in 
the discovery of the Saiwan East oil field, 
the  second  commercial  discovery  on  the 

12

blocks.  At  the  Saiwan  East  oil  field,  the 
oil  is  produced  from  the  Khufai  carbon-
ate at depths ranging from 1,700 to 2,400 
metres.  This  reservoir  was  previously 
unknown as an oil producer in Oman. The 
oil from the Khufai layer holds a quality of 
approximately 32 degrees API.

Ulfa, Samha and Erfan fields
After  some  years  with  focus  on  develop-
ment  activities  aiming  at  increasing  pro-
duction,  a  number  of  exploration  wells 
were drilled in 2017, which resulted in the 
discovery of the Ulfa, Samha and Erfan oil 
fields.

The Shahd field
The Shahd field was discovered in 2013 in 
a previously unexplored area on the Blocks. 
In the Shahd oil field, oil is extracted from 
the Lower Buah and the Khufai carbonates 
at a depth of 2,000–2,400 metres.

The  Erfan  oil  field  is  a  single  structure 
producing from the Khufai carbonate for-
mation,  at  depths  ranging  from  1,700  to 
2,400 metres, in the same producing for-
mation  as  in  neighbouring  Saiwan  East 
field.

The oil from the Shahd field holds a qual-
ity  of  35–38  degrees  API.  Like  the  Farha 
South field, this area is also highly faulted 
and  is  not  one  large  continuous  reser-
voir. The oil is instead trapped in separate 
structures. Eight structures have been put 
into  production.  Water  injection  is  also 
required on the Shahd oil field in order to 
reach good recovery rates.

The Ulfa oil field is also a single structure. 
It is located on trend with the Farha South 
field.  The  majority  of  the  production  in 
the field comes from the Khufai carbonate 
formation, but also the Buah is on produc-
tion.  The  Samha  oil  field  is  located  adja-
cent  to  the  Ulfa  field  and  produces  from 
the  same  formations.  The  oil  from  both 
Ulfa  and  Samha  is  of  high  quality,  about 

45 degrees API, and contains a high pro-
portion of associated gas.

Infrastructure development
Full  production  facilities  have  been  con-
structed both on the Farha South field and 
on  Saiwan  East  field.  At  these  facilities, 
reservoir fluids are processed in separators 
and  heater  treaters  to  remove  water,  gas 
and  impurities  in  order  to  make  the  oil 
ready for export. The facilities also include 
large storage tanks, pumps and other nec-
essary infrastructure, including field camps 
for the oil field workers.

In  addition,  Early  Production  Facilities 
(EPF)  have  been  constructed  on  Shahd 
and  on  Ulfa  fields.  An  EPF  is  a  smaller 
production facility, which, to some extent, 
relies  on  the  infrastructure  at  the  Saiwan 
East field to process the oil to be ready for 
export.

Gharif

Ghudun

Barik
Al Bashir
Miqrat

Amin

Buah

Shuram

Khufai
Masirah Bay

Formations

Geological  formations  are  natural  formations 
and  structures  in  the  rock  and  ground  which 
have occurred as a result of usually very slow 
geological  processes  of  different  kinds  and 
ages.

A  formation  is  a  rock  unit  that  is  distinctive 
enough  in  appearance  that  a  geologic  mapper 
can tell it apart from the surrounding rock layers. 
The  thickness  of  formations  may  range  from 
less than a metre to several thousand metres. 
The  term  “formation”  is  often  used  informally 
to refer to a specific grouping of rocks, such as 
those encountered within a certain depth range 
in an oil well.

in 

On  Blocks  3&4,  reservoirs 
formations 
like  Khufai,  Barik,  Lower  Al  Bashir,  Buah  and 
Masirah  Bay  have  been  explored.  Tethys  Oil 
has  reserves  and  production  in  reservoirs  in 
the  Khufai,  Barik,  Lower  Al  Bashir  and  Buah 
formations.

1313

All production is transported through pipe-
lines to the main exporting point at the Sai-
wan East facility. From Saiwan East, the oil 
is pumped through an 83 km long 16-inch 
pipeline to Alam Station just west of Blocks 
3&4, for further transportation through the 
national pipeline system to the export port 
in Muscat, the Mina Al Fahal Terminal.

Future exploration on Blocks 3&4
In hindsight it might seem like the explo-
ration,  development  and  production  ini-
tiation  of  crude  oil  on  Blocks  3&4  has 
been a straightforward and understandable 
process.  However,  numerous  companies 
explored  for  oil  and  gas  for  40  years  and 
drilled some 30 exploration wells in these 
two Blocks. Most of the wells encountered 
oil,  but  none  were  deemed  commercially 
viable. There is no question about it – vast 
amounts  of  oil  have  been  formed  on  the 

Blocks. The trick is to find the traps, where 
oil could have accumulated.

3D seismic surveys have been a key factor 
to the development of the blocks. Seismic 
data have revealed that many of the non-
commercial wells drilled by previous oper-
ators  would  not  have  been  drilled  if  3D 
data had been available prior to drilling.

Despite  intense  exploration  and  develop-
ment activity for over ten years, large areas 
on  the  Blocks  have  yet  to  be  explored 
by  the  drill  bit.  But  with  annual  seismic 
programmes,  the  latest  one  of  more  than 
4,000 km2 of new 3D seismic in late 2019 
and  early  2020,  an  overwhelming  major-
ity of the most prospective areas of Blocks 
3&4  are  covered  by  high  resolution  3D 
seismic.  Tethys  Oil  believes  that  there  is 
significant remaining exploration potential 
on Blocks 3&4.

In 2020, a full rig year was planned to drill-
ing exploration and appraisal wells. But as a 
response to the sharp drop in oil prices and 
increased  uncertainty  resulting  from  the 
effects  of  the  global  Covid-19  pandemic 
and  production  limitations,  expenditures 
were  significantly  reduced  or  deferred. 
Two of the three drilling rigs were put on 
standby  in  June  2020,  resulting  in  post-
ponement of much of the exploratory drill-
ing. However, in the fourth quarter 2020, 
the  Anan-1  exploration  well  was  success-
ful drilled. In 2021, the work programme 
again includes drilling of exploration wells.

Work programme 2021
The  focus  of  the  2021  work  programme 
on Blocks 3&4 is continued development 
drilling,  upgrading 
infrastructure  with 
focus on asset integrity and debottleneck-
ing, continuing the gas utilisation project 
and the drilling of exploration wells.

Vibrator truck

Receiver truck

Geophones (receivers)

GAS

OIL

WATER

WATER

Seismic studies

A key exploration activity is the use of geophysical 
seismic.  The  principle  behind  seismic  is  that 
sound  waves  travel  at  different  speeds  in 
different  materials  and  that  the  sound  waves, 
at  the  transition  between  different  materials, 
partly  bend  and  reflect  back  to  the  surface. 
Since  rocks  have  different  compositions,  it  is 
possible,  based  on  variations  in  the  speed  of 

the  sound  wave  and  angle,  to  estimate  the 
location  of  structures  that  could  hold  oil  and/ 
or natural gas reserves in an exploration area.

Single linear lines of seismic provide information 
about  the  subsurface  rocks  directly  beneath 
the  seismic  equipment.  This  type  of  seismic 
data  is  referred  to  as  two-dimensional  or  2D 
seismic,  because  it  provides  data  along  two 
axes,  length  and  depth.  If  seismic  acquisition 

is  done  across  multiple  lines  simultaneously, 
the  third  dimension  of  width  is  gained,  hence 
referred  to  as  three-dimensional  seismic,  or 
3D  seismic.  3D  seismic  offers  much  greater 
density  of  information  about  the  subsurface 
but is much more costly and covers a smaller 
area. Since the oil at Blocks 3&4 is trapped in 
smaller  fault  blocks  or  structures,  3D  seismic 
has been essential in the mapping of possible 
oil-bearing structures.

1414

Seismic mapping, prospects and leads,  
Seismic mapping, prospects and leads,  
Blocks 3&4, Oman
Blocks 3&4, Oman

BLOCK 3

Alam Station &
Pipeline System

Farha South Field

Ulfa
Samha

Shahd 
field

Saiwan East Field

Erfan

BLOCK 3

Vibrator truck

Receiver truck

Geophones (receivers)

BLOCK 4

GAS

OIL

WATER

WATER

Export quality

Unprocessed

BLOCK 3
BLOCK 3

Farha
Farha

Alam Station &
Pipeline System

Ulfa EPF
Ulfa EPF

Samha

37 km
37 km

83 km
83 km

50 km
50 km

Shahd H
Shahd H
Shahd I
Shahd I

23 km
23 km

Shahd B
Shahd B
(D & F)
(D & F)

25 km
25 km

BLOCK 4
BLOCK 4

Saiwan station
Saiwan station
Saiwan
Saiwan

12 km
12 km

Erfan
Erfan

1515

3D seimic programme 2019/2020

3D seismic area

2D seismic area

Fields in production

Leads and prospects

Discoveries 2019
(undergoing appraisal/development)

BLOCK 3
BLOCK 3

N

The spud of the Thameen-1 well on Block 49

Three  years  after  Block  49  was 
awarded  to  Tethys  Oil  in  2017,  the 
Thameen-1  well  spudded  on  31 
December 2020. The well location and 
design were the result of two years of 
seismic  work,  including  reprocessing 
of vintage seismic data, and process-
ing and interpretation of seismic data 
from a new campaign.

The  Block  49  licence  covers  an  area  of 
15,439 km2. Nine wells have been drilled 
by  previous  operators  within  the  Block 
boundaries,  several  of  which  are  reported 
to have encountered oil shows. Among the 
legacy  wells,  Dauka-1  was  the  first  well 
ever drilled in Oman in 1955.

One of the first steps to be taken after the 
award of the licence, was the reprocessing 
of some 1,464 km of the over 11,000 km 
of  2D  seismic  data  acquired  by  previous 
operators that had been made available to 
Tethys  Oil.  Through  this  reprocessing,  a 
number of seismic anomalies were identi-
fied,  which  could  be  possible  –  primarily 
stratigraphic  –  oil  traps.  The  anomalies 

16

have  been  identified  within  the  deeper 
formations in the block at depths of 2,500 
metres or below.

In  2018,  Tethys  Oil  launched  a  seismic 
campaign on Block 49, whereby 253 km2 
of 3D and 299 km of 2D seismic data was 
acquired  in  the  north-eastern  part  of  the 
licence  area.  The  purpose  of  the  seismic 
campaign was to further define possible oil 
traps and to enhance the understanding of 
the deeper parts of the Block in general.

After  processing  and  completion  of  the 
first  phase  of  the  seismic  interpretation 
in  the  second  half  of  2019,  the  prospect 
Thameen (“Precious”) was identified in the 
north eastern part of the Block. The Tha-
meen-1  spudded  on  31  December  2020. 
The well is planned to be drilled to a depth 
of about 4,000 metres below ground. Pri-
mary target is the Late Ordovician Hasirah 
Sandstone layer at a depth of 3,500 metres 
(TVD).  A  secondary  target  is  the  Mid-
Ordovician  Saih  Nihayda  Sandstone  at  a 
depth of 3,700 metres (TVD). In addition, 
the well is also designed to investigate the 
shallower Gharif Sandstone. 

In  the  first  quarter  2021,  the  Thameen-1 
well was drilled to its final total depth and 
a well testing programme was conducted. 
No flows were recorded at surface, but logs 
indicated  a  gross  hydrocarbon  column  of 
close to forty metres.

The  Exploration  and  Production  Sharing 
Agreement  (“EPSA”)  for  Block  49  cov-
ers  an  initial  exploration  period  that  has 
been  extended  one  year  until  December 
2021 with an optional extension period of 
another  three  years.  In  November  2020, 
Tethys  Oil  reached  an  agreement  with 
EOG  Resources  Inc  (“EOG”)  to  farm 
out 50 percent of the working interest in 
the EPSA. As consideration, EOG agreed 
to  refund  all  costs  incurred  on  the  Block 
and fund the Thameen-1 exploration well, 
up to a combined amount of MUSD 15. 
EOG  also  have  the  option  to  take  over 
operations  of  the  Block  and  increase  its 
interest  to  85  percent  for  any  operation 
relating  to  unconventional  hydrocarbon 
resources.  The  transaction  was  finalised 
and completed in March 2021.

Seismic mapping, prospects and leads,  
Block 49, Oman

Thameen

3D seismic area

2D seismic area

N

0

40,000 m

1717

Block 56, a smorgasbord of possibilities

In 2019, Tethys Oil farmed into Block 
56  with  a  20  percent  interest  in  the 
Exploration  and  Production  licence 
(“EPSA”)  covering  the  Block.  After  a 
successful work programme in 2020, 
which  strengthened  the  significant 
exploration  potential  of  the  Block, 
Tethys  Oil  entered  an  agreement 
to  increase  its  share  to  65  percent 
through  an  additional  farm-in  and 
assume operatorship of the Block. 

Tethys  Oil  entered  the  Block  when  the 
present  partner  group  was  already  far 
advanced  into  the  first  exploration  phase 
of the EPSA. Three new wells had already 
been successfully drilled. After Tethys Oil’s 
entry,  the  well  tests  commenced.  One  of 
the  wells  confirmed  the  presence  of  an 
active petroleum system with a crude qual-
ity  of  20–25  degrees  API  and  medium 
viscosity,  although  commerciality  is  yet 
to  be  determined. The  results  would  sug-
gest  that  a  proven  and  producing  play  in 

the  Karim  Small  Fields  in  adjacent  Block 
6 extends into the Al Jumd area in Block 
56. Karim Small Fields produces approxi-
mately  13,000  BOPD  from  a  number  of 
fields.  Several  of  undrilled  leads  within 
this oil play have been identified on Block 
56 and will be subject to further work. In 
addition, evaluation of the existing seismic 
data on the Block suggests the presence of 
numerous  leads  in  several  different  play 
concepts,  particularly  in  the  central  parts 
of the Block.

Encouraged by the positive results, Tethys 
Oil  agreed  to  acquire  an  additional  45 
percent  interest  in  the  EPSA  for  Block 
56. Through this transaction, Tethys Oil’s 
interest in the Block increases from 20 to 
65  percent  and  includes  assuming  opera-
torship of the Block. The transaction was 
finalised in February 2021.

Block  56  covers  an  area  of  5,808  km2  in 
the south-eastern part of Oman some 200 

km south of Blocks 3&4. To date 11 wells 
have  been  drilled  on  the  Block  and  all 
but one has encountered oil or oil shows, 
although, none has yet been determined to 
be a commercial discovery. 

The  Block  lies  at  the  intersection  of  dif-
ferent  geological  provinces  including  the 
prolific  South  Oman  Salt  Basin.  It  offers 
exploration potential in multiple play con-
cepts, both proven and unproven, many of 
which  are  familiar  to Tethys  Oil  from  its 
other operations in the country.

The  partners  elected  in  2020  to  enter 
into  the  second  exploration  phase  ending 
in  December  2023.  The  2021  work  pro-
gramme on Block 56 is centred on evaluat-
ing the Al Jumd area by drilling of up to 
three  wells  and  planning  of  a  3D  seismic 
acquisition in the central area of the Block.

1818

Omani exploration portfolio expanded with Block 58

Tethys Oil announced in July 2020 that 
the Company had been awarded Block 
58, a new exploration licence onshore 
Oman. Tethys Oil is through its wholly 
owned  subsidiary  Tethys  Oil  Qatbeet 
Limited the operator of the Block and 
holds  a  100%  licence  interest.  This 
Block borders Tethys Oil’s other oper-
ated  Block  49  and  holds  some  very 
interesting  geological  features  that 
hopefully will be upgraded to drillable 
prospects in the not-too-distant future.

Block  58  is  located  in  the  Dhofar  Gov-
ernorate  in  the  southern  part  of  Oman. 
It covers an area of 4,557 km2. Block 58 
straddles  the  western  flank  of  the  South 
Oman Salt Basin and the Western Defor-
mation Front. A total of 7,600 km of 2D 
seismic and 1,100 km2 of 3D seismic data 
acquired  by  previous  operators  has  been 
made available to Tethys Oil as well as raw 
logs and well reports from two wells drilled 
within  the  Block  boundaries.  Both  wells 
encountered hydrocarbon shows. Multiple 

play  concepts  are  believed  to  exist  within 
the  Block  boundaries,  including  plays 
familiar  to  Tethys  Oil,  with  several  leads 
identified.

The  EPSA  for  Block  58  covers  an  initial 
exploration  period  of  three  years  with 
an  optional  extension  period  of  another 
three  years.  The  2021  work  programme 
on Block 58 is focused on reprocessing of 
legacy  3D  seismic  data  and  conducting  a 
new 3D seismic acquisition.

1919

Transportation and sales (Blocks 3&4)

All oil produced at the fields is transported 
through  a  pipeline  to  the  Qarn  Alam 
metering station, to the west of the Blocks. 
At  the  metering  station,  the  oil  volumes 
are  recorded  and  the  quality  is  measured. 
From  Qarn  Alam,  the  oil  is  transported 
through  the  national  pipeline  system  to 
the Mina Al Fahal terminal in Muscat. At 
this  terminal,  the  oil  is  lifted  and  loaded 
into  oil  tankers.  From  Muscat,  the  oil  is 
shipped  to  different  destinations,  primar-
ily in Asia.

Licences in Oman are held through Explo-
ration and Production Sharing Agreements 
(EPSA). The EPSA allows the joint opera-
tions partners to recover their costs from a 
predetermined  percentage  of  the  value  of 
total oil production, referred to as cost oil. 
After deducting any allowance for cost oil, 
the remaining oil production is split, also 
according  to  a  predetermined  percentage, 
between the government and the partners. 
The  exact  percentages  differ  from  licence 
to  licence.  Until  oil  has  been  found  and 
produced  on  a  licence,  no  costs  can  be 

recovered.  If  no  commercial  oil  discovery 
is  made  on  an  exploration  licence,  the 
exploring oil company bears all the risk.

Tethys  Oil  sells  all  of  its  oil  from  Blocks 
3&4 on a monthly basis to Mitsui Energy 
Trading  Singapore,  which  is  part  of  Mit-
sui  &  Co  Ltd.  Tethys  Oil’s  selling  price 
is  based  on  the  monthly  average  price  of 
the front-month future contract of Oman 
export blend as traded on the Dubai Mer-
cantile  Exchange,  including  trading  and 
quality adjustments.

Office and staff

During  2020, Tethys  Oil  had  an  average 
of  23  full-time  employees  of  several  dif-
ferent  nationalities,  in  a  broad  age  range, 
of  which  39  percent  were  female  and  61 
percent male. A majority of the staff have 
graduated  from  universities  and  colleges, 
primarily with geosciences, engineering or 
business administration.

Muscat Office
A  team  of  highly  trained  engineers  and 
subsurface  specialists  are  based  at  Tethys 

Oil’s  office 
in  Muscat  together  with 
finance  and  administration  staff.  As  per 
the Omani government directive related to 
employment, preference is given to Omani 
nationals in recruiting new staff. The Mus-
cat office is the base for Tethys Oil’s Chief 
Technical Officer (CTO).

Stockholm Office
Tethys Oil head office is located in Stock-
holm, Sweden. The Stockholm office is the 
base  for  the  Managing  Director  and  the 
Chief Financial Officer (CFO), along with 
Tethys Oil’s finance, legal, business devel-
opment and communications staff.

20

Corporate Governance Report

Corporate Governance Report 2020

Corporate  Governance  practices 
refer 
to  the  decision-making  systems  through 
which  owners,  directly  or  indirectly,  con-
trol  a  company.  Tethys  Oil  is  a  publicly 
traded  company  listed  on  Nasdaq  Stock-
holm, Mid Cap. Tethys Oil adheres to the 
Swedish  Code  of  Corporate  Governance 
(“the  Code”).  The  Code  is  published  on 
www.bolagsstyrning.se,  where  a  descrip-
tion  of  the  Swedish  Corporate  Govern-
ance model can be found. This Corporate 
Governance  Report  2020  is  submitted 
in  accordance  with  the  Swedish  Annual 
Accounts  Act  and  the  Code.  It  explains 
how Tethys Oil has conducted its corporate 
governance  activities  during  2020.  Tethys 
Oil does not report any deviations from the 
Code,  Nasdaq  Stockholm’s  rule  book  for 
issuers,  recommendations  from  the  Swed-
ish Securities Council, decisions from Dis-
ciplinary Committee at Nasdaq Stockholm 
or  statements  from  the  Swedish  Securities 
Council. The report has been examined by 
the Company’s auditors, please see page 28.

External and internal framework 
for governance in Tethys Oil
External:
•  Swedish Companies Act
(eg  Swedish 
legislation 
•  Accounting 
Book-keeping  Act,  Swedish  Annual 
Accounts Act and IFRS)

•  Nasdaq  Stockholm’s  rule  book 

for 

issuers

•  Swedish Code of Corporate Governance

Internal:
•  Articles of Association
•  Board instructions, rules of procedure
•  Internal  control  framework  with  Code 

of Conduct, polices etc.

Shareholders
Tethys  Oil’s  shares  are  traded  on  Nasdaq 
Stockholm.  At  year-end  2020  the  share 
capital  amounted  to  SEK  6,050,862,  rep-
resented by 33,056,608 shares, each with a 
par value of SEK 0.18. All shares represent 
one vote each. At 31 December 2020, the 
number of shareholders was 9,666 (7,044). 
Of  the  total  number  of  shares,  foreign 
shareholders  accounted  for  approximately 
57  percent.  Lansdowne  Partners  Austria 
is  the  only  shareholder  with  a  holding  in 
excess  of  10  percent  of  shares  and  votes, 

with a holding  of 3,633,699 shares repre-
senting 11.0 percent of shares and votes.

In June, and as resolved by the AGM on 13 
May  2020, Tethys  Oil  cancelled  its  entire 
holding of treasury shares (3,238,352) pre-
viously  acquired  by  the  Company  under 
its  share  repurchase  programme.  Tethys 
Oil’s  holding  of  its  own  shares,  acquired 
in December 2020, amounted to 315,552 
shares  (1.0  percent)  as  at  31  December 
2020. 

For  further  information  on  share,  share 
capital  development  and  shareholders,  see 
pages 32–35 and Tethys Oil’s website.

Annual General Meeting
The  Annual  General  Meeting  (“AGM”) 
must be held within six months of the close 
of the fiscal year. All shareholders who are 
listed  in  the  share  register  on  the  record 
date and who have notified the Company 
of their participation in due time are enti-
tled to participate in the AGM. The AGM 
was  held  in  Stockholm  on  13  May  2020. 
114  shareholders  were  represented  at  the 
AGM, representing 35 percent of the votes 
and share capital in the Company. In order 
to safeguard the health of shareholders and 
personnel,  the  AGM  was  conducted  with 
precautionary measures in accordance with 
the  special  implementing  regulations  due 
to Covid-19 which were introduced in the 
Code  during  the  year  2020.  The  resolu-
tions  passed  by  the  meeting  included  the 
following:

•  Adoption of the income statements and 
balance sheets for 2019 and discharge of 
liability for the Board of Directors and 
the Managing Director;

•  Re-election  of  Robert  Anderson,  Alex-
andra  Herger,  Magnus  Nordin,  Per 
Seime and Geoffrey Turbott, with Geof-
frey  Turbott  re-elected  as  chairman  of 
the  Board.  Klas  Brand  was  also  elected 
to join the Board of Directors;

•  Remuneration  of  the  members  of  the 
Board of Directors and the chairman of 
the Board of Directors, including Board 
committee  membership,  to  be  as  fol-
lows: (i) annual fees of the members of 
the Board of Directors of SEK 330,000 
(excluding  the  Managing  Director); 
(ii)  annual  fees  of  the  chairman  of  the 

21

Board  of  Directors  of  SEK  700,000; 
(iii) annual fees to committee members 
of  SEK  35,000  per  committee  assign-
ment,  annual  fees  for  the  chairmen  of 
the  Remuneration  Committee  and  the 
Technical  Committee  of  SEK  65,000 
each, annual fee for the chairman of the 
Audit Committee of SEK 90,000, unless 
the  committee  is  chaired  by  the  chair-
man of the Board of Directors in which 
case the annual fee is SEK 65,000. The 
total  fees  for  committee  work,  includ-
ing  committee  chairmen  fees,  shall  not 
exceed SEK 360,000;

•  Re-election  of  PricewaterhouseCoopers 
AB  as  auditors  with  authorised  public 
accountant Ulrika Ramsvik as the audi-
tor  in  charge.  Auditors  will  be  paid  as 
invoices are approved;

•  Guidelines  for  compensation  of  senior 

executives;

•  Payment of a dividend of SEK 2.00 per 
share to the Company’s shareholders to 
be  paid  in  May  2020  with  record  date 
15 May 2020;

•  An  extraordinary  distribution  of  SEK 
three  (3.00)  per  outstanding  share 
through a share split, a reduction of the 
share capital with redemption of shares 
from  the  share  split  and  an  increase  of 
the share capital by way of a bonus issue. 
The record date for the share split is 22 
May 2020;

•  To effect a reduction of the share capital 
with  redemption  of  shares  held  by  the 
company  and  an  increase  of  the  share 
capital by way of a bonus issue equalling 
the amount of the reduced share capital.
•  Approval  of  an  incentive  programme 
as part of the remuneration package to 
employees.  Issuance  of  350,000  war-
rants  where  each  warrant  is  entitled  to 
subscription to one new share in Tethys 
Oil during the period 13 June 2023 up 
to and including 6 October 2023. Sub-
scription  price  for  the  warrants  is  SEK 
54.00 per share;

•  Authorisation  for  the  Board  to  resolve 
on repurchasing own shares, up until the 
AGM  2021,  up  to  but  not  more  than 
one-tenth of all outstanding shares and 
to resolve on transfer of own shares;
•  Rules for the appointment and work of 

the nomination committee; 

•  Authorisation  for  the  Board  to  resolve 
to issue new shares or convertibles with 

consideration  in  cash  and,  in  kind  or 
by set-off and with the right to deviate 
from the shareholders’ preferential rights 
up to but not more than one-tenth of all 
outstanding shares, to enable the Com-
pany  to  facilitate  the  raising  of  capital 
for  acquisitions  and  the  Company’s 
operations; 

•  Amendment  of  the  Articles  of  Associa-
tion to reduce the minimum and maxi-
mum  number  of  shares  and  make  cer-
tain other formal changes;

the  AGM 
The  minutes  recorded  at 
can  be  found  at  Tethys  Oil’s  website, 
www.tethysoil.com.

The  Annual  General  Meeting  2021  is 
planned  to  be  held  in  Stockholm  on  19 
May  2021  at  CEST  15:00.  The  meeting 
will be held without the physical presence 
of  shareholders,  representatives  or  third 
parties. Shareholders will before the meet-
ing  be  able  to  exercise  their  voting  rights 
only by post.

Nomination process
In accordance with the Nomination Com-
mittee  process  approved  by  the  AGM 
2020, the Nomination Committee for the 
AGM 2021 consists of members appointed 
by  three  of  the  largest  shareholders  of  the 
Company based on shareholdings as per 30 
September  2020  and  the  chairman  of  the 
Board.  The  names  of  the  members  of  the 
Nomination  Committee  were  announced 
and  posted  on  the  Company’s  website  on 
19 November 2020.

The  Nomination  Committee  for  the 
AGM  2021  has  held  four  meetings  dur-
ing  its  mandate  and  informal  contacts 
have  taken  place  between  such  meetings. 
Viktor  Modigh  was  at  the  first  meeting 
appointed  chairman  of  the  nomination 
committee.  The  Nomination  Commit-
tee  report,  including  the  final  proposals 
to  the  AGM  2021,  will  be  published  on 
the Company’s website together with the 
notice of the AGM.

The  Nomination  Committee’s  assignment 
is  to  produce  proposals  for  the  following 
matters,  which  will  be  presented  to  the 
AGM for resolution:

•  Viktor Modigh, chairman of the nomi-
nation committee, representing Magnus 
Nordin;

•  Mikael  Petersson,  representing  Lans-

•  Number of directors of the board;
•  Remuneration  to  the  chairman  of  the 
board of directors, the other directors of 
the board and the auditors respectively;
•  Remuneration,  if  any,  for  committee 

work;

•  Composition of the board of directors;
•  Chairman of the board of directors;
•  Resolution regarding the process of the 

Nomination Committee 2022;

•  Chairman  at  the  annual  general  meet-

ing; and

•  Election of auditors.

The  work  of  the  Nomination  Committee 
included  evaluation  of  the  Board’s  work, 
competence  and  composition,  as  well  as 
the  independence  of  the  members.  The 
Nomination  Committee  also  considered 
other  criteria  such  as  the  background  and 
experience  and  has  also  taken  part  in  the 
Board evaluation. Further, the Nomination 
Committee has considered the Company’s 
Board  diversity  policy  in  its  proposal  for 
Board members. The Board diversity policy 
is available on the Company’s website.

The Nomination Committee for the AGM 
2021 consisted of the following members:

downe Partners Austria GmbH;

•  Jan Risberg, representing himself; and
•  Geoffrey  Turbott,  chairman  of  Tethys 

Oil

Shareholders who wish to present a motion 
to the Nomination Committee can do so to 
the  chairman  of  the  nomination  commit-
tee: nomcom@tethysoil.com or by letter to 
Tethys  Oil  AB,  Nomination  Committee, 
Hovslagargatan 5B, SE-111 48 Stockholm.

The Board and its work
Board composition
The  Articles  of  Association  stipulate  that 
the Board of Directors of Tethys Oil shall 
consist of no less than three and no more 
than  ten  Board  members  with  no  more 
than  three  deputy  Board  members.  Board 
members  and  chairman  of  the  Board  are 
elected  for  a  maximum  of  one  year  at  a 
time. The Board of Directors of Tethys Oil 
since  the  AGM  2020  has  consisted  of  six 
members  and  no  deputies.  Geoffrey  Tur-
bott has been chairman of the Board. Four 
Board members are independent from the 
Company  and  the  Company’s  manage-
ment,  and  six  Board  members  are  inde-
pendent from larger shareholders. For fur-
ther  information  on  the  Board  members, 
please see pages 29–30.

Board of Directors elected at the AGM 2020

Member

Elected

Position

Year of 
birth

Nationality

Independent in 
relation to the 
Company

Geoffrey Turbott

2015

Chairman

1963

New Zealand

Robert Anderson

2017

Member

1953 United Kingdom

Klas Brand

2020

Member

1956

Sweden

Alexandra Herger

2017

Member

1957

United States

Magnus Nordin

2001

Member

1956

Sweden

Per Seime

2017

Member

1946

Norway

Yes

Yes

No*

Yes

No

Yes

Independent 
in relation to 
the Company’s 
larger 
shareholders

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

*  Klas Brand assisted Tethys Oil in specific questions in relation to both internal controls and external reporting prior to 

being elected as board director in May 2020.

22

Rules of procedure
The Board of Directors at Tethys Oil estab-
lishes the overall goals and strategy of the 
Company  and  resolves  on  larger  invest-
ments, acquisitions and disposals of busi-
ness activities or assets. The Board ensures 
that  there  is  an  appropriate  system  for 
follow-up  and  control  of  the  Company’s 
operations,  including  evaluating  the  risks 
associated  with  its  operations  and  that 
there is a satisfactory process for monitor-
ing the Company’s compliance with appli-
cable  laws,  other  regulations  and  internal 
guidelines.  The  board  identifies  how  sus-
tainability issues impact risks to and busi-
ness  opportunities  for  the  Company  and 
also defines appropriate guidelines to gov-

ern the Company’s conduct in society, with 
the aim of ensuring its long-term value cre-
ation capability. It appoints and evaluates 
the Managing Director and determines the 
Managing Director’s salary and other com-
pensation. The Board further ensures that 
the  Company’s  external  communications 
are  characterised  by  openness,  and  that 
they are accurate, reliable and relevant.

The Board of Directors’ work is governed 
by  annually  adopted  rules  of  procedure. 
The  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Directors 
supervises the work and is responsible for 
it being well organised and efficient. This 
entails,  among  other  things,  continually 
following  the  Company’s  operations  in 

contact  with  the  Managing  Director  and 
being  responsible  for  other  Board  mem-
bers  receiving  the  information  and  docu-
mentation  needed  to  ensure  high-quality 
discussions and well-founded decisions by 
the  Board  of  Directors.  The  chairman  is 
responsible for the evaluation of the Board 
of Directors’ and the Managing Director’s 
work and represents the Board of Directors 
in ownership matters.

According  to  the  current  rules  of  proce-
dure the Board of Directors shall, after the 
constituent  Board  meeting  following  the 
AGM,  hold  a  minimum  of  five  ordinary 
meetings during a calendar year.

Timing and main items for ordinary meetings following AGM

May

August

Constituting meeting

Second quarter report

September–November

Strategy and discussion investment plan/budget

December

Investment plan and budget, liquidity and forecast

January–February

Fourth quarter and year-end report, allocation of profit, review auditors’ report

March–April

Annual report and AGM

Assessment of the board’s work
The  chairman  of  the  Board  is  responsible 
for  assessing  the  Board’s  work  includ-
ing  the  performance  of  individual  Board 
members. This is done on an annual basis 
through  a  questionnaire  which  is  anony-
mous for the Board members. The assess-
ment focuses on such factors as the Board’s 
way of working, number of meetings and 
effectiveness,  time  for  preparation,  avail-
able  competence  and  individual  Board 

members  influence  of  the  Board’s  work. 
The Nomination Committee takes part in 
assessing the results, and it is a component 
in  the  nomination  committee’s  work  to 
submit a proposal to the AGM concerning 
Board members.

The Board’s work in 2020
During  2020,  the  Board  held  13  meet-
ings of which five were ordinary and eight 
extraordinary,  in  person,  via  telephone 

and per capsulam meetings. Attendance at 
the meetings is shown in the table below. 
Board  secretary  was  the  Company’s  CFO 
Petter  Hjertstedt.  Prior  to  each  meeting, 
Board  members  were  provided  with  an 
agenda  and  written  information  on  the 
matters  to  be  covered.  Each  meeting  has 
included the possibility to discuss without 
management representatives being present.

Board of Directors and committee attendance in 2020

Board member

Board

Member 
Audit 
Committee

Member 
Remuneration 
Committee

Member of 
Technical 
Committee

Board 
meetings

Audit 
Committee 
meetings

Remuneration 
Committee 
meetings

Technical 
Committee 
meetings

Geoffrey Turbott

Chairman

Robert Andersson

Member

Yes 

–

Klas Brand*

Member

Yes (Chairman)

Alexandra Herger

Member

Magnus Nordin

Member

–

–

–

–

–

Yes

–

Per Seime

Member

Yes

Yes (Chairman)

*  Klas Brand was elected as board director in May 2020.

–

13/13

Yes (Chairman)

13/13

9/10

12/13

13/13

13/13

–

Yes

–

–

23

5/5

–

3/3

–

–

5/5

–

–

–

2/2

–

2/2

–

6/6

–

6/6

–

–

Board committees
In  order  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  its 
work  and  enable  a  more  detailed  analysis 
of  certain  matters,  the  Board  has  formed 
committees:  Audit,  Remuneration  and 
are 
Technical.  Committee  members 
appointed within the Board for the period 
until  the  next  AGM.  The  committee’s 
duties and authorities are regulated in the 
annually  approved  rules  of  procedure  for 
each committee. The committees perform 
monitoring  and  evaluations,  resulting  in 
recommendations  to  the  Board  of  Direc-
tors, where all decision-making takes place.

Audit Committee
The Board has established an Audit Com-
mittee for the period up to and including 
the AGM 2021, consisting of Klas Brand as 
chairman, Geoffrey Turbott and Per Seime 
as members of the committee. Members of 
the committee during 2020 prior to AGM 
2020 consisted of Geoffrey Turbott (chair-
man) and Per Seime. The Audit Committee 
convened five times in 2020. The work has 
mainly  focused  on  supervising  the  Com-
pany’s  financial  reporting  and  assessing 
the  efficiency  of  the  Company’s  financial 
internal controls, with the primary objec-
tive being providing support to the Board 
in the decision-making processes regarding 
such  matters.  The  Audit  Committee  also 
regularly liaises with the Group’s statutory 
auditors as part of the annual audit process 
and reviews the audit fees and the auditors’ 
independence and impartiality. The Audit 
Committee  also  assists  the  Nomination 
Committee with proposals for resolutions 
on  the  election  and  remuneration  of  the 
auditor.  The  Audit  Committee  reports  to 
the  Board,  normally  in  conjunction  with 
the following Board meeting.

Remuneration Committee
The  Board  has  established  a  Remunera-
tion Committee for the period up to and 
including the AGM 2021, consisting of Per 
Seime as chairman and Alexandra Herger 
as a member of the committee. The com-
mittee  remained  unchanged  throughout 
the  year.  The  Remuneration  Committee 
convened two times in 2020. The work has 
mainly  focused  on  preparing  the  Board’s 
decisions  on  principles  for  remuneration 
to  management,  establishing  key  perfor-
mance indicators, to monitor and evaluate 

variable remuneration and the application 
of the guidelines for remuneration as well 
as  to  construct  and  propose  the  share-
based  incentive  programme  to  the  AGM. 
The  Remuneration  Committee  reports  to 
the  Board,  normally  in  conjunction  with 
the following Board meeting.

Technical Committee
The  Board  has  established  a  Techni-
cal  Committee  for  the  period  up  to  and 
including  the  AGM  2021,  consisting  of 
Robert Anderson as chairman and Alexan-
dra Herger as a member of the committee. 
Members  of  the  committee  during  2020 
prior  to  AGM  2020  consisted  of  Robert 
Anderson  (chairman),  Alexandra  Herger 
and  Gavin  Graham. The Technical  Com-
mittee  convened  six  times  in  2020.  The 
work has mainly focused on following up 
on  work  programs,  budgets  and  invest-
ment proposals, evaluation of and recom-
mendation  on  appointment  of  independ-
ent  qualified  reserve  auditor,  oversight  of 
the reserves audit process, review of opera-
tions  management  systems  and  techni-
cal  review  of  new  ventures  projects.  The 
Technical Committee reports to the Board, 
normally  in  conjunction  with  the  follow-
ing Board meeting. 

External auditors of the Company
Statutory auditors
Pursuant  to  its  Articles  of  Association, 
Tethys Oil must have one or two auditors, 
and  no  more  than  two  deputies.  A  regis-
tered  firm  of  auditors  may  be  appointed 
as  the  Company’s  auditor.  Tethys  Oil’s 
is  PricewaterhouseCoopers  AB 
auditor 
with  Ulrika  Ramsvik  as  lead  partner  and 
Sophie  Damborg  as  co-signing  auditor. 
PricewaterhouseCoopers AB was elected as 
the Company’s auditor at the AGM 2020. 
At  least  once  a  year,  the  Board  meets  the 
Company’s auditor without the Managing 
Director or any other member of the exec-
utive  management  present.  Tethys  Oil’s 
auditors  reviewed  the  Company’s  second 
quarter and six months report 2020.

24

Tethys Oil’s auditor: Pricewaterhouse-
Coopers AB

Ulrika 
Ramsvik

Sophie 
Damborg

Lead 
partner

Co-signing 
Auditor

2014

2020

Role

Company auditor 
since

The audit firm has, besides the audit, con-
ducted  a  limited  number  of  other  assign-
ments  on  behalf  of  Tethys  Oil.  These 
assignments  mainly  consisted  of  services 
associated with auditing, such as in-depth 
reviews during the audit. Remuneration to 
the auditors of Tethys Oil is paid in accord-
ance  with  approved  current  accounts.  In 
2020,  remuneration  to  Pricewaterhouse-
Coopers  AB  amounted  to  MUSD  0.2 
(MUSD 0.1). For details on remuneration 
to  auditors,  see  note  10,  Auditor’s  fees. 
During  2020  the  auditor’s  advisory  busi-
ness  was  engaged  to  provide  consultancy 
services within process efficiency and inter-
nal  controls  within  Tethys  Oil’s  finance 
function.

Independent qualified reserves 
auditor
Tethys Oil’s independent qualified reserves 
auditor  annually  certifies  Tethys  Oil’s  oil 
reserves and resources, although such assets 
are not included in the Company’s balance 
sheet.  The  independent  qualified  reserves 
auditor for the 2020 report was ERC Equi-
poise  Limited  (“ERCE”),  the  same  that 
also  audited  the  2019  report.  For  further 
information, see Reserves on page 9.

Managing Director and executive 
management
The  executive  management  in Tethys  Oil 
throughout  2020  has  consisted  of  the 
Managing  Director  (Magnus  Nordin), 
CFO  (William  Holland  until  8  January 
2020  followed  by  Petter  Hjertstedt)  and 
the  CTO  (Fredrik  Robelius).  The  Board 
of Directors has adopted an instruction for 
the Managing Director which clarifies the 
responsibilities and authority of the Man-
aging  Director.  According  to  the  instruc-
tion, the Managing Director shall provide 
the Board of Directors with decision data 
in order to enable the Board to make well-
founded decisions and with documents to 

enable it to continually monitor the activi-
ties  for  the  year.  The  Managing  Director 
is  responsible  for  the  day-to-day  business 
of  the  Company  and  shall  take  the  deci-
sions  needed  for  developing  the  business 
– within the legal framework, the business 
plan, the budget and the instruction for the 
Managing Director adopted by the Board 
of Directors as well as in accordance with 
other  guidelines  and  instructions  com-
municated by the Board of Directors. The 
Board evaluates the work of the Managing 
Director.  The  Board  examines  this  issue 
formally at least once a year, and without 
any member of the executive management 
present during this evaluation process.

Guidelines for remuneration to 
senior executives
The guidelines for remuneration to senior 
executives  were  approved  by  the  Annual 
General  Meeting  2020.  It  is  the  Boards 
opinion  that  there  exists  no  need  for  any 
significant  changes  to  the  remuneration 
guidelines to be proposed for the AGM in 
2021.

Application of guidelines
These guidelines apply to remuneration to 
senior  executives  and  to  members  of  the 
Board of Directors if remuneration is paid 
for  work  performed  outside  the  scope  of 
the ordinary board work (eg pursuant to an 
employment  or  consultancy  agreement). 
For the purposes of these guidelines, senior 
executives include the Managing Director, 
the  Deputy  Managing  Director  (if  appli-
cable)  and  certain  other  executives  who, 
from  time  to  time,  are  members  of  the 
Group Executive Management. 

These guidelines do not apply to any remu-
neration resolved upon or approved by the 
General  Meeting  and  are  only  applicable 
to remuneration agreed, and amendments 
to  remuneration  already  agreed,  after  the 
adoption of these guidelines by the Annual 
General Meeting 2020.

These  guidelines  constitute  a  framework 
within which remuneration to senior exec-
utives may be decided on by the Board of 
Directors.

General remuneration principles
In  short,  the  Group’s  business  strategy  is 
to create shareholder value working across 
the  whole  upstream  oil  and  gas  industry 
lifecycle of exploration, appraisal, develop-
ment and production. A central objective 
in the Group’s business model is to explore 
for and produce oil and gas in an economi-
cally, socially, and environmentally respon-
sible way. 

The  Company’s  remuneration  principles 
are  to  ensure  responsible  and  sustainable 
remuneration  decisions  that  support  the 
Company’s  strategy,  long-term  interests 
and sustainable business practices and fur-
ther enhance the Group’s market position 
as well as increase the shareholder value. To 
this  end,  salaries  and  other  employment 
terms shall enable the Group to retain and 
recruit skilled senior executives at a reason-
able cost. Remuneration shall be on mar-
ket  terms  and  based  on  the  principles  of 
performance, competitiveness and fairness. 

When evaluating whether these guidelines 
and the limitations set out herein are rea-
sonable, the Board of Directors (including 
the  Remuneration  Committee)  has  con-
sidered  the  total  income  of  all  employees 
of  the  Company,  including  the  various 
components of their remuneration as well 
as the increase and growth rate over time.

In order to comply with mandatory rules 
or established local practice, remuneration 
which  is  subject  to  rules  outside  Sweden 
may be adjusted to comply with such local 
rules,  taking  into  account,  to  the  extent 
possible,  the  overall  purpose  of  these 
guidelines.

Elements of remuneration
The remuneration covered by these guide-
lines  may  consist  of  basic  salary,  variable 
cash salary, pension, non-financial benefits 
and severance pay. In addition hereto, the 
General Meeting may decide on, inter alia, 
long-term  incentive  programs  in  which 
senior executives can participate.

as  the  skills,  experience  and  performance 
of each senior executive. 

On  the  assumption  of  payment  of  full 
variable  cash  salary,  pension  benefits  and 
other benefits, the basic salary is expected 
to amount to no more than 45 percent of 
the total remuneration. If there is no vari-
able cash salary, pension benefits or other 
benefits, the basic salary will constitute the 
entire remuneration.

Principles for variable cash salary
Variable  cash  salary,  ie  cash  bonuses, 
shall  be  based  on  a  set  of  predetermined 
and  measurable  performance  criteria  that 
reflect  the  key  drivers  for  pursuing  the 
Company’s  strategy,  long-term  interests 
and  sustainable  business  practices.  Such 
performance  criteria  include  (but  are  not 
limited  to)  HSE,  production,  reserves 
replacement,  business  development  and 
financial performance as well as individual 
performance.

To  which  extent  the  criteria  for  awarding 
variable cash salary have been satisfied shall 
be  determined  annually  in  connection 
with the preparation of the year-end report 
for  the  respective  financial  year  based  on 
an  evaluation  of  the  senior  executive’s 
achievement of the performance indicators 
as described in the agreed individual per-
formance targets.

Payment  of  variable  cash  salary  shall  be 
conditional  upon  the  senior  executive 
remaining  employed  for  the  duration  of 
the  qualification  period.  The  Board  of 
Directors  is  entitled  to  adjust  the  incen-
tive  programme  during  the  term  of  the 
programme  in  the  case  of,  for  example, 
extraordinary increases or decreases in the 
Group’s earnings.

Variable  cash  remuneration  shall  qualify 
for  pension  benefits  only  to  the  extent  it 
is  required  pursuant  to  mandatory  provi-
sions  of  applicable  collective  bargaining 
agreements.

Principles for basic salary
The basic salary shall be in line with mar-
ket  conditions,  be  competitive,  and  shall 
take into account the scope and responsi-
bility associated with the position, as well 

The  annual  variable  cash  salary  may  not 
amount  to  more  than  12  months’  basic 
salary, and is therefore expected to amount 
to  no  more  than  50  percent  of  the  total 
remuneration.

25

Principles for pension benefits
Pension  benefits  shall  comprise  a  defined 
contribution  scheme  with  premiums  cal-
culated on the full basic salary and be set 
on an individual basis, however, provided 
that  mandatory  provisions  of  applicable 
collective  bargaining  agreements  do  not 
require otherwise.

Pension benefits may not amount to more 
than 30 percent of the basic salary, and is 
therefore expected to amount to no more 
than 25 percent of total remuneration.

Principles for non-financial benefits
Non-financial  benefits  shall  be  based  on 
market terms and shall facilitate the duties 
of  senior  executives.  Non-financial  ben-
efits may include, inter alia, life insurance, 
medical insurance etc.

Premiums and other costs relating to non-
financial benefits may not amount to more 
than five percent of the basic salary, and is 
therefore expected to amount to no more 
than five percent of the total remuneration.

Remuneration during notice period 
and severance pay
The  notice  period  for  termination  of  the 
Managing  Director  shall  not  exceed  12 
months  and  the  notice  period  for  termi-
nation of other senior executives shall not 
exceed nine months.

A  mutual  termination  period  of  12 
months applies between the Company and 
the Managing Director and of up to nine 
months between the Company and other 
senior executives.

Severance  pay  to  the  Managing  Direc-
tor  and  other  senior  executives  shall  not 
exceed  12  months’  basic  salary,  provided 
that the employment is terminated by the 
Company.  In  the  event  the  senior  execu-
tive terminates his or her employment, no 
severance shall be payable.

Principles for certain remuneration to 
members of the Board of Directors
To  the  extent  members  of  the  Board  of 
Directors  perform  work  for  the  Com-
pany  outside  the  scope  of  the  ordinary 
board  work,  consultancy  fees  on  market 
terms  may  be  paid  in  addition  to  any 

board  fees  resolved  upon  by  the  General 
Meeting.  The  Nomination  Committee  is 
tasked with proposing a frame, if any, for 
such remuneration, to be approved by the 
Annual General Meeting.

Long-term incentive programs
Any  remuneration  resolved  upon  by  the 
General  Meeting  is  not  covered  by  these 
guidelines.  Accordingly,  these  guidelines 
do not apply to the Company’s long-term 
incentive  programs  resolved  upon  by  the 
General Meeting. 

The  Company’s  existing  long-term  incen-
tive  programs  are  directed  to  certain  key 
employees  of  the  Group  and  designed  to 
create conditions for retaining and recruit-
ing  competent  and  committed  person-
nel  to  the  Group.  More  information  on 
the  Company’s  existing  and  proposed 
incentive  programs  from  time  to  time 
is  available  on  the  Company’s  website, 
www.tethysoil.com.

The role of the Remuneration 
Committee 
The  Board  of  Directors  has  established  a 
Remuneration  Committee  to  deal  with 
matters  of  executive  compensation  and 
wider Group remuneration. Specifically, it 
is tasked to: 

•  Recommend  and  review  remuneration 
guidelines  for  the  Managing  Director, 
the  executive  management  and  other 
employees in the Group to the Board of 
Directors;

•  Recommend  Company  Performance 
Targets  for  each  year  to  the  Board  of 
Directors;

•  Recommend Managing Director Perfor-
mance Targets for each year to the Board 
of  Directors,  and  inform  the  Board  of 
Directors  of  the  Performance  Targets 
agreed between the Managing Director 
and the executive management;

•  Recommend  remuneration  (salary  and 
benefits)  for  the  Managing  Director  to 
the  Board  of  Directors  and  inform  the 
Board of Directors of the remuneration 
(salaries  and  benefits)  for  the  executive 
management;

•  Recommend  allocation  of  bonus  and 
warrants  to  the  Managing  Director 
to  the  Board  of  Directors  and  inform 

26

the  Board  of  Directors  of  allocation  of 
bonus  and  warrants  to  the  executive 
management; and

•  Recommend 

programme 
incentive 
guidance  relating  to  employees  to  the 
Board of Directors.

Preparation and review of the compli-
ance of these guidelines
These guidelines have been prepared by the 
Remuneration  Committee  of  the  Board 
of  Directors  and  the  Board  of  Directors. 
The  Remuneration  Committee  is  respon-
sible for preparation of updated proposals 
in  respect  of  guidelines  for  remuneration 
to  the  senior  executives.  A  proposal  for 
amended  guidelines  is  to  be  prepared  by 
the Board of Directors when the need for 
material  amendments  arises,  but  at  least 
every four years.

The  guidelines  may  also  be  amended  by 
way of a resolution by other General Meet-
ings than Annual General Meetings.

Within the scope and on the basis of these 
guidelines,  the  Board  of  Directors  shall, 
based  on  the  Remuneration  Committee’s 
preparation and recommendations, annu-
ally  decide  on  the  specific  revised  remu-
neration  terms  for  each  senior  executive 
and  make  such  other  decisions  in  respect 
of remuneration for senior executives that 
may be required.

The members of the Remuneration Com-
mittee  are  independent  in  relation  to  the 
Company  and  the  senior  executives.  The 
Managing  Director  and  the  other  senior 
executives do not participate in the Board 
of  Directors’  handling  of,  or  resolutions 
regarding, remuneration-related matters if 
they are affected by such matters.

Principles for derogations from these 
guidelines
The  Board  of  Directors  may  temporarily 
resolve  to  derogate  from  these  guidelines, 
in  whole  or  in  part,  if  in  a  specific  case 
there  is  special  cause  for  such  derogation 
and a derogation is necessary to serve the 
Company’s  long-term  interests,  including 
its  sustainability,  or  to  ensure  the  Com-
pany’s financial viability.

Remuneration to executive management 2020
(MSEK)

Managing director

Other executive management

Total

Basic 
salary

Pension 
arrangements

Variable 
salary

Share-based 
long-term 
incentive*

3.494

8.985

12.479

0.436

0.632

1.067

2.057

1.833

3.890

1.045

1.245

2.291

Other 
benefits

0.029

0.016

0.045

Total 
2020

7.061

12.711

19.772

Total 
2019

6.217

10.868

17.085

Remuneration to the Board 2020 
Remuneration  to  be  paid  to  the  Board  of 
Directors for the period between the AGMs 
of  2020  and  2021  amounts  to  a  total  of 
TSEK  2,380,  allocated  among  the  Board 
members  in  the  way  shown  in  the  below 
table.  The  Annual  General  Meeting  2020 
resolved that remuneration of the chairman 
of  the  Board  of  Directors  shall  be  TSEK 

700  per  annum  and  of  the  other  mem-
bers  TSEK  330  per  member  per  annum. 
Remuneration is not paid for service of the 
Boards or directors of subsidiaries. Magnus 
Nordin,  who  is  employed  by  Tethys  Oil, 
does  not  receive  any  remuneration  for  his 
service on the Board of Directors.

Annual  fee  for  committee  members  is 
TSEK  35  per  committee  assignment  and 
annual fees for the chairman of the Remu-
neration  and  Technical  Committees  are 
TSEK 65. The annual fee for the chairman 
of the Audit Committee is TSEK 90, unless 
the committee is chaired by the Chairman 
of the Board in which case the annual fee 
is TSEK 65. 

Remuneration to board and committee members for the period between the AGMs of 2020 and 2021 (in their capacity 
as board members)
(TSEK)

Board of  
directors

Audit  
Committee

Technical 
Committee

Remuneration 
Committee

Member

Geoffrey Turbott

Robert Andersson

Klas Brand*

Alexandra Herger

Magnus Nordin

Per Seime

Total

700

330

330

330

–

330

2,020

35

–

90

–

–

35

160

–

65

–

35

–

–

–

–

–

35

–

65

Total

735

395

420

400

–

430

100

100

2,380

*  Klas Brand was remunerated in 2020 for assisting Tethys Oil in specific questions in relation to both internal controls and external reporting prior to being elected as board director in 

May 2020.

Financial reporting and control
The  Board  of  Directors  has  the  ultimate 
responsibility  of  the  internal  control  for 
the financial reporting. Tethys Oil’s system 
of internal control, with regard to financial 
reporting,  is  designed  to  minimise  risks 
involved  in  the  financial  reporting  pro-
cess  and  ensure  a  high  level  of  reliability 
in  financial  reporting.  Furthermore,  the 
system of internal control ensures compli-
ance with applicable accounting and other 
requirements that Tethys Oil must meet as 
a listed company.

Tethys Oil’s main assets are owned in part-
nership.  The  focus  of  internal  control  is 

therefore to ensure reliability and accuracy 
of  the  operator’s  financial  information. 
The control is conducted by monthly and 
quarterly  cost  controls,  quarterly  budget 
reviews  and  interviews  with  operators  to 
understand and explain deviations.

Internal control
Tethys Oil continually works on improv-
ing financial reporting through evaluating 
the  risk  of  errors  in  the  financial  report-
ing and related control activities. Control 
activities include following up on instruc-
tions  and  the  application  of  account-
ing  principles.  The  Board  of  Directors  is 
responsible  for  and  monitors  the  control 

activities,  which  involve  all  levels  of  the 
organisation. The activities limit the iden-
tified  risks  and  ensure  correct  and  reli-
able  financial  reporting.  The  Company’s 
financial department analyses and follows 
up  on  budget  deviations,  draws  up  fore-
casts, follows up on significant variations 
between periods and reports to the Board 
of  Directors,  which  minimises  the  risks 
for  errors  in  the  financial  reporting.  The 
control activities also include following up 
on the authorisation manual and account-
ing  principles.  These  control  activities 
also include the operators in partnerships. 
The Board of Directors further decides on 
specific  control  activities  and  auditing  of 

27

operators  in  partnerships.  The  financial 
department regularly follows up on devia-
tions and irregularities and reports to the 
Audit  Committee.  This  structure  is  con-
sidered  sufficient  and  suitable  given  the 
size  and  nature  of  the  Company’s  busi-
ness. At the current size of the Company 
and the fact that the Company’s interests 
in  producing  assets  are  non-operated,  it 
is  not  considered  necessary  to  have  for  a 
dedicated internal auditor function.

Information and communication
The  Board  has  adopted  an  information 
policy for the purpose of ensuring that the 
external  information  is  correct  and  com-
plete. There are also instructions regarding 
information security and how to commu-
nicate financial information.

Monitoring
Both the Board and the management fol-
low  up  on  the  compliance  and  effective-

ness of the Company’s internal controls to 
ensure the quality of internal processes. The 
Board receives detailed monthly reports on 
the financial situation and development of 
the business to this end. The Audit Com-
mittee  ensures  and  monitors  that  control 
activities are in place for important areas of 
risk related to financial reporting.

Stockholm, 9 April 2021

Tethys Oil AB (publ)
The Board of Directors

Auditor’s report on the Corporate Governance Statement

To the general meeting of the shareholders in Tethys Oil AB (publ), corporate identity number 556615-8266.

Engagement and responsibility
It  is  the  board  of  directors  who  is  responsible  for  the  corporate 
governance statement for the year 2020 on pages 21–28 and that 
it has been prepared in accordance with the Annual Accounts Act. 

The scope of the audit
Our  examination  has  been  conducted  in  accordance  with  FAR’s 
auditing standard RevU 16 The auditor’s examination of the cor-
porate governance statement. This means that our examination of 
the corporate governance statement is different and substantially 
less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with Inter-
national  Standards  on  Auditing  and  generally  accepted  auditing 
standards  in  Sweden.  We  believe  that  the  examination  has  pro-
vided us with sufficient basis for our opinions.

Opinions
A corporate governance statement has been prepared. Disclosures 
in  accordance  with  chapter  6  section  6  the  second  paragraph 
points  2-6  the  Annual  Accounts  Act  and  chapter  7  section  31 
the second paragraph the same law are consistent with the annual 
accounts and the consolidated accounts and are in accordance with 
the Annual Accounts Act.

Gothenburg, 9 April 2021
PricewaterhouseCoopers AB

Ulrika Ramsvik
Authorized Public Accountant
Lead Partner

Sophie Damborg
Authorized Public Accountant

28

Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Member

Function

Elected

Year of birth

Nationality

Geoffrey Turbott

Rob Anderson

Klas Brand

Chairman of the Board and member of 
the Audit Committee

Board member and chairman of the 
Technical Committee

Board member and chairman of the 
Audit Committee

2015

1963

2017

1953

New Zealand

United Kingdom

2020

1956

Sweden

Education/background

Former member of New Zealand’s 
Institute of Chartered Accountants

Experience

Worked with public companies in 
which the Lundin family holds a major 
shareholding from 1995 to 2013, 
whereof as Chief Financial Officer and 
Vice President of Finance at Lundin 
Petroleum AB from 2002 to 2013

Other board duties

Board member: Tetbury Forestry Ltd. and 
Progress Land Ltd.

Shares in Tethys Oil (per 
31 December 2020)1

35,400

Warrants in Tethys Oil (per 
31 December 2020)1

–

Board and committe 
remuneration (TSEK)2

Independent in relation to 
the Company

Independent in relation 
to the Company's larger 
shareholders

735

Yes

Yes

MA Engineering, Christ's College, 
Cambridge University. Chartered 
Engineer & Fellow of the Institution of 
Mechanical Engineers

VP Projects & Engineering at TNK-BP, 
Head of Projects at BP. Engineer with 
deep experience in oil installations and 
major oil and gas field developments

–

–

–

395

Yes

Yes

Bachelor’s Degree in Business 
Administration and Economics, 
Gothenburg University

Former Authorized Public Accountant and 
partner at PwC’s Assurance practice in 
Gothenburg, Sweden. Consultant to listed 
and private companies within e.g. internal 
controls and financial reporting. Senior 
adviser to and member of the advisory 
board at Corptrade.

Board member and responsible for 
the property and finances of Göta Par 
Bricole, Gothenburg, Board member of 
1BC3 Brand AB

6,000

–

420

No3

Yes

1  Privately or via company
2  Resolved upon at the AGM 2020
3  Klas Brand assisted Tethys Oil in specific questions in relation to both internal controls and external reporting prior to being elected as board member in 2020

2929

Member

Function

Elected

Year of birth

Nationality

Alexandra Herger

Magnus Nordin

Per Seime

Board member and member of the 
Remuneration and Technical Committees

Board member and Managing Director

Board member, chairman of the 
Remuneration Committee and member 
of the Audit Committee

2017

1957

United States

2001

1956

Sweden

2017

1946

Norway

Education/background

BA Geology, Ohio Wesleyan University 
and Master studies Geology, University 
of Houston

Bachelor of Arts, University of Lund and 
Master of Arts, University of California, 
Los Angeles

Experience

VP Global Exploration at Marathon 
Oil, executive positions at Shell and 
Enterprise Oil

Several executive positions in different 
oil companies

Master of Law, University of Oslo. Master 
of Comparative Law, University of Chicago 
Law School (Oil & Gas). Norwegian School 
of Economic (NHH) Executive Board 
Program.

Oil and gas lawyer with more than 30 
years’ experience. Lawyer for Mobil Oil 
(Norway, USA and Indonesia) and legal 
advisor to oil companies. Previously 
chair of board for Premier Oil Norge and 
Nexen Exploration Norge.

Other board duties

Board member: Panoro Energy ASA and 
Tortoise Capital Advisors  
Member: Women's Leadership 
Committee, Oil Council and Leadership 
Texas, Foundation for women's 
resources, member of the PGS ASA’s 
Nomination Committee

Board member: Minotaurus AB, 
including subsidiaries, and Minotaurus 
Energi AS

Shares in Tethys Oil (per 
31 December 2020)1

Warrants in Tethys Oil (per 
31 December 2020)1

Board and committe 
remuneration (TSEK)2

Independent in relation to 
the Company

Independent in relation 
to the Company's larger 
shareholders

–

–

400

Yes

Yes

1  Privately or via company
2  Resolved upon at the AGM 2020

1,550,427

5,000

2018/21: 75,000  
2019/22: 60,000  
2020/23: 60,000

–

No

Yes

–

430

Yes

Yes

3030

Executive management

Executive management

Magnus Nordin

Petter Hjertstedt

Fredrik Robelius

Function

Board member and Managing Director

Chief Financial Officer

Chief Technical Officer

Employed since

2004

2016

2011

Education/background

Bachelor of Arts, University of Lund and 
Master of Arts, University of California, 
Los Angeles

Finance and accounting at Linköping 
University, Sweden

Education: PhD Engineering Physics, 
Uppsala University; Postgraduate Diploma 
Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt 
University

Year of birth

Nationality

Experience

1956

Sweden

1979

Sweden

1973

Sweden

Several executive positions in different 
oil companies

Equity research analyst at SEB, Pareto 
Securities and Carnegie Investment 
Bank. Finance and Investor Relations at 
PA Resources

Energy engineering positions in Fortum, 
petroleum engineering related positions 
in Tanganyika Oil and Sinopec

Shares in Tethys Oil (per 
31 December 2020)*

1,550,427

Warrants in Tethys Oil (per 
31 December 2020)

2018/21: 75,000  
2019/22: 60,000  
2020/23: 60,000

*  Privately, via company and insurance policy

5,400

12,368

2018/21: 20,000  
2019/22: 25,000  
2020/23: 50,000

2018/21: 48,000  
2019/22: 50,000  
2020/23: 50,000

3131

The Tethys Oil share

The Tethys Oil share

Tethys  Oil’s  shares  are  traded  on  Nasdaq 
Stockholm. With  the  purpose  of  improv-
ing  liquidity  and  reducing  the  spread 
between  buyers  and  sellers  of  Tethys  Oil 
shares, the Company has contracted Pareto 
Securities AB to act as a liquidity provider 
for the shares of the Company.

Shares outstanding
Tethys  Oil’s  registered  share  capital  at 
31  December  2020  amounts  to  SEK 
6,050,862  represented  by  33,056,608 
shares  with  a  quota  value  of  SEK  0.18. 
All shares in Tethys Oil represent one vote 
each.  All  outstanding  shares  are  common 
shares and carry equal rights to participa-

tion  in  Tethys  Oil’s  assets  and  earnings. 
As  per  31  December  2020,  the  Board 
of  Directors  had  remaining  outstanding 
authorisation from the AGM to issue up to 
10 percent of the shares up until the next 
AGM. As per 31 December 2020, Tethys 
Oil held 315,552 (1.0 percent) of its own 
shares  which  were  purchased  from  14  to 
30 December 2020 at an average price of 
SEK 48.92. In June, and as resolved by the 
AGM 2020, Tethys Oil cancelled its entire 
holding  of  treasury  shares  (3,238,352) 
which were purchased from 2014 to April 
2020  at  an  average  price  of  SEK  55.48. 
As  a  result  of  the  cancellation  of  treasury 
shares,  the  total  number  of  shares  and 

votes  decreased  from  36,294,960  shares 
and votes to 33,056,608 shares and votes. 
The share repurchase programme is based 
on a mandate from the respective AGM.

Tethys  Oil  has  a  warrant  programme 
as  part  of  the  remuneration  package  to 
employees.  Warrants  currently  outstand-
ing have been issued following the AGMs 
in  2018,  2019  and  2020.  The  terms  for 
each warrant series have been recalculated 
as  a  consequence  of  recalculation  events, 
according to the terms and conditions for 
the warrants approved by the AGMs. The 
current terms are:

Warrant programme

2018/21

2019/22

2020/23

Issued

350,000

350,000

350,000

Allotted

324,000

350,000

349,000

Strike price, SEK

No of shares each warrant entitle to

75.40

72.80

54.00

1.18

1.08

1.00

32

Share capital development
Since the company’s inception in September 2001 and up to 31 December 2020, the parent company’s share capital has developed as 
shown below:

Year 

Share capital development

Quota value,  
SEK

Change in number 
of shares 

Total number 
of shares 

Change in total 
share capital, SEK 

Total share 
capital, SEK

2001

2001

2001

2003

2004

2004

2006

2006

2007

2007

2007

2007

2008

2008

2008

2009

2009

2010

2010

2010

2011

2012

2015

2015

2015

2016

2016

2016

2018

2018

2018

2018

2019

2019

2019

2019

2020

2020

2020

2020

2020

Formation of the company

Share issue

Share split 100:1

Share issue

Share split 2:1

Share issue

Non-cash issue

Share issues

Share issue

Exercise of warrants

Share issue

Set-off issue

Share split 3:1

Share issue

Exercise of warrants

Share issues

Exercise of warrants

Exercise of warrants

Share issue

Exercise of warrants

Non-cash issue

Share issue

Share split 1:2 (redemption shares)

Redemption

Bonus issue

Share split 1:2 (redemption shares)

Redemption

Bonus issue

Share split 1:2 (redemption shares)

Redemption

Bonus issue

Exercise of warrants

Share split 1:2 (redemption shares)

Redemption

Bonus issue

Exercise of warrants

Share split 1:2 (redemption shares)

Redemption

Bonus issue

Redemption of treasury shares 

Bonus issue

100.00

100.00

1.00

1.00

0.50

0.50

0.50

0.50

0.50

0.50

0.50

0.50

0.17

0.17

0.17

0.17

0.17

0.17

0.17

0.17

0.17

0.17

0.08

0.08

0.17

0.08

0.08

0.17

0.08

0.08

0.17

0.17

0.08

0.08

0.17

0.17

0.08

0.08

0.17

0.17

0.18

100,000

400,000

0

250,000

0

1,442,400

200,000

478,480

150,000

1

62,500

113,000

0

800,000

300

550,000

128,167

190,742

83,334

468,491

6,544

501,667

0

-2,962,813

2,962,813

0

-2,962,813

2,962,813

0

-2,962,813

2,962,813

58,777

0

-2,992,201

2,992,201

66,460

0

-3,025,431

3,025,431

-539,877

539,877

100,000

500,000

500,000

750,000

750,000

2,192,400

2,392,400

2,870,880

3,020,880

3,020,881

3,083,381

3,196,381

3,196,381

3,996,381

3,996,681

4,546,681

4,674,848

4,865,590

4,948,924

5,417,415

5,423,958

5,925,625

5,925,625

2,962,813

5,925,625

5,925,625

2,962,813

5,925,625

5,925,625

2,962,813

5,925,625

5,984,402

5,984,402

2,992,201

5,984,402

6,050,862

6,050,862

3,025,431

6,050,862

5,510,985

6,050,862

1,000

4,000

495,000

250,000

750,000

2,884,800

400,000

956,960

300,000

2

125,000

226,000

1,000

5,000

500,000

750,000

1,500,000

4,384,800

4,784,800

5,741,760

6,041,760

6,041,762

6,166,762

6,392,762

12,785,524

19,178,286

4,800,000

23,978,286

1,800

23,980,086

3,300,000

27,280,086

769,005

28,049,091

1,144,451

29,193,542

500,000

29,693,542

2,810,947

32,504,489

39,261

32,543,750

3,000,000

35,543,750

35,543,750

71,087,500

-35,543,750

35,543,750

0

35,543,750

35,543,750

71,087,500

-35,543,750

35,543,750

0

35,543,750

35,543,750

71,087,500

-35,543,750

35,543,750

0

35,543,750

352,560

35,896,310

35,896,310

71,792,620

-35,896,310

35,896,310

0

35,896,310

398,650

36,294,960

36,294,960

72,589,920

-36,294,960

36,294,960

0

36,294,960

-3,238,352

33,056,608

0

33,056,608

33

Dividend policy
Tethys Oil has in 2021 adopted a new divi-
dend  policy.  The  new  policy  replaces  the 
prior  “Capital  structure  target  and  divi-
dend policy”. The new policy reads:

Tethys  Oil  aims  to  provide  a  long-term 
sustainable and growing ordinary dividend 
funded  by  cash  flow  from  its  producing 
assets.  Distributions  to  the  shareholders 
must always be aligned with the Company’s 
long  term  operational  and  financial  com-

mitments,  market  conditions  and  access 
to external funding. In order to enable the 
company to optimise its capital structure, 
further  shareholder  distribution  may  be 
carried  out  by  various  methods  such  as 
redemption shares or share repurchases.

Dividend
For the financial year 2020, the Board of 
Directors  proposes  to  the  AGM  2021  a 
total  distribution  of  SEK  4.00  per  share, 
corresponding  to  MSEK  130.5  in  total. 

The  distribution,  subject  to  approval  by 
the  AGM,  is  proposed  to  be  made  by  a 
cash dividend of SEK 2.00 per share and 
SEK 2.00 per share by a mandatory share 
redemption programme. (The AGM 2020 
resolved  on  a  total  distribution  of  SEK 
5.00  per  share,  of  which  SEK  2.00  per 
share  as  cash  dividend  and  SEK  3.00  per 
share  by  a  mandatory  share  redemption 
programme, equal to MSEK 165.3).

Share ownership structure
The 15 largest shareholders in Tethys Oil as per 28 February 2021.

Name

Lansdowne Partners Austria

Magnus Nordin

Avanza Pension

Adage Capital Management

Liontrust

Carl Erik Norman

Nordnet Pension Insurance

Jan Risberg

Schroders

Russell Investments

AXA

RAM Active Investments SA

Daniel Hägerlöf

New York City Employees Retirement System (NYCERS)

Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Total, 15 largest shareholders

Summary, others appr 9,300 shareholders

Outstanding shares

Tethys Oil AB

Total number of shares (incl. Treasury shares)

Number of shares

Share of capital and votes 

3,633,699

1,550,427

1,240,294

1,050,000

749,532

685,000

657,217

625,000

467,714

400,277

348,200

337,784

332,060

315,697

299,046

12,691,947

19,929,021

32,620,968

435,640

33,056,608

11.0%

4.7%

3.8%

3.2%

2.3%

2.1%

2.0%

1.9%

1.4%

1.2%

1.1%

1.0%

1.0%

1.0%

0.9%

38.4%

60.3%

98.7%

1.3%

100.0%

Source: Monitor by Modular Finance as per 28 February 2021. Compiled and processed data from various sources, including Euroclear, Morningstar and the Swedish Financial Supervisory 
Authority (Finansinspektionen). The verification date may vary for certain shareholders.

34

Distribution of shareholdings
Distribution of shareholdings per 28 February 2021.

Owner distribution by holdings

Number of shares

Capital and votes

Number of owners

Part of owners

1 – 500

501 – 1,000

1,001 – 5,000

5,001 – 10,000

10,001 – 20,000

20,001 – 50,000

50,001 – 100,000

100,001 – 200,000

200,001 – 

Source: Monitor by Modular Finance

829,488

910,763

2,459,443

1,028,637

1,044,882

1,977,853

1,432,442

2,834,032

2.5%

2.8%

7.4%

3.1%

3.2%

6.0%

4.3%

8.6%

13,609,568

41.2%

6,805

1,103

1,054

145

69

60

21

19

18

73.2%

11.9%

11.3%

1.6%

0.7%

0.6%

0.2%

0.2%

0.2%

Share statistics 2020
The final transaction price in 2020 was SEK 49.2 corresponding to 
a total market capitalization of MSEK 1,626. During the year the 
price of Tethys Oil’s share decreased by 42 percent (including cash 
distribution a decrease of 36 percent). Based on data from NAS-

DAQ Stockholm, the highest transaction price in 2020 was SEK 
90.6 on 7 January and the lowest was SEK 36.16 on 19 March. 
The  turnover  velocity  (annual  turnover/  outstanding  shares)  was 
192 percent on Nasdaq Stockholm.

Share price development and turnover 2020

100

80

60

40

20

0

SEK

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Share price

Turnover

35

1,000,000

800,000

600,000

400,000

200,000

0

Share volume
per day
(10 days 
moving 
average)

Payments to authorities

Payments to authorities 2020

This  report  has  been  prepared  in  accordance  with  the  law  SFS 
2015:812 (Lag 2015:812 om rapportering av betalningar till myn-
digheter) regarding payments to authorities. The reported amounts 
refer to direct payments in excess of the threshold amount of SEK 

860,000 and production sharing for the fiscal year 2020 for the 
group in which Tethys Oil AB (publ) (“Tethys Oil”) is the parent 
company.

Per project

Project

Oman

Blocks 3&4

Block 49

Block 58

Total Oman

Total Tethys Oil

Per Authority

   Production sharing

License costs

Barrels (’000)

USD (’000)

USD (’000)

1,991

96,143

–

–

1,991

1,991

–

–

96,143

96,143

–

250

1,600

1,850

1,850

   Production sharing

License costs

Barrels (’000)

USD (’000)

USD (’000)

Sultanate of Oman – Ministry of Energy and 
Minerals

Sultanate of Oman – Ministry of Finance

Total Oman

Total Tethys Oil

1,991

–

1,991

1,991

96,143

–

96,143

96,143

200

1,650

1,850

1,850

Total

USD (’000)

96,143

250

1,600

97,993

97,993

Total

USD (’000)

96,343

1,650

97,993

97,993

Production sharing
The category includes non-cash taxes and compensation to receiv-
ing  state/authority  in  barrels  of  oil  from  Tethys  Oil’s  working 
interest share of production. The presented amounts are based on 
net entitlement and have been valued using the reported average 
price for the period.

Licence costs
This  pertains  to  costs  for  maintaining  the  exploration  licences 
for  Oman  Block  49  and  Block  58  where  payment  was  made  to 
Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas and Oman’s Ministry of Finance.

36

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Key financial data

Key financial data

Group

Operational items

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

Production before government take, Oman Blocks 3&4, bbl

4,148,818

4,683,754

4,294,852

4,439,119

4,436,438

Production per day, Oman Blocks 3&4, bbl

11,336

12,832

11,767

12,162

12,121

Oil sales, bbl

Achieved oil price, USD/bbl

Income statement and balance sheet

2,317,875

2,259,849

2,163,148

2,316,404

2,357,701

47.7

64.2

70.5

51.8

40.5

Revenue and other income, MUSD

101.1

150.8

EBITDA, MUSD

EBITDA-margin

Operating result, MUSD

Operating margin

Net result, MUSD

Net margin

Cash and cash equivalents, MUSD

Shareholders' equity, MUSD

Balance sheet total, MUSD

Capital structure 

Equity ratio

Leverage ratio

Investments in oil and gas properties, MUSD

Net cash, MUSD

Profitability

Return on shareholders' equity

Return on capital employed

Other

Average number of full-time employees

Distribution per share, SEK

Cash flow from operations per share, USD

50.4

50%

5.8

6%

3.3

3%

55.4

257.7

280.3

92%

neg.

45.4

55.1

1.23%

4.87%

23

5.0

1.59

92.9

62%

37.1

25%

38.3

25%

75.6

276.3

300.2

92%

neg.

65.2

75.1

157.3

106.6

68%

60.7

39%

62.2

40%

73.1

267.6

291.4

92%

neg.

55.8

73.1

119.3

78.2

66%

38.4

32%

33.1

28%

42.0

228.5

244.7

93%

neg.

40.4

42.0

14.10%

25.09%

15.56%

14.66%

26.66%

18.97%

23

8.0

2.64

20

6.0

2.97

19

1.0

1.46

87.1

44.0

51%

-0.5

-1%

2.7

3%

39.0

196.9

239.0

82%

neg.

48.5

39.0

1.29%

4.20%

19

4.0

1.53

Number of shares at period end, thousands

33,057

36,295

35,896

35,544

35,544

Of which repurchased shares at period end, thousands

 316

1,954

1,644

1,644

1,329

Number of shares at year end (excluding repurchased shares), thousands

32,741 

34,341

34,252

33,900

34,215

Shareholders' equity per share, USD

Weighted average number of shares (before dilution), thousands

Weighted average number of shares (after dilution), thousands

Earnings per share before dilution, USD

Earnings per share after dilution, USD

7.87

33,321

33,328

0.10

0.10

7.61

34,223

34,303

1.12

1.12

7.45

34,011

34,140

1.83

1.82

6.43

34,170

34,385

0.97

0.96

5.54

34,324

34,372

0.08

0.08

37

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Definitions and abbreviations

Tethys Oil discloses alternative performance 
measures as part of its financial statements 
prepared in accordance with ESMA’s (Euro-
pean  Securities  and  Markets  Authority) 
guidelines. Tethys Oil believes that the alter-
native  performance  measures  provide  use-
ful  supplemental  information  to  manage-

ment, investors, security analysts and other 
stakeholders. They are meant to provide an 
enhanced  insight  into  the  financial  devel-
opment of Tethys Oil’s business operations 
and  improve  comparability  between  peri-
ods.  Alternative  performance  measures  are 
not defined under IFRS and should not be 

viewed as a substitute for financial informa-
tion presented in accordance with IFRS but 
rather as a complement. Reconciliations of 
relevant  alternative  performance  measures 
are provided on the following page. Defini-
tions of the performance measures are pro-
vided under the key ratio definitions below.

Definitions of key ratios

Relevant reconciliations of alternative performance measures

MUSD 

Operating result

Add: Depreciation, depletion and amortization

Add: Exploration costs

EBITDA

Cash and bank

Less: Interest bearing debt

Net cash

Margins
EBITDA-margin
EBITDA as a percentage of yearly revenue 
and other income.

Operating margin 
Operating result as a percentage of yearly 
revenue and other income. 

Net margin 
Net result as a percentage of yearly revenue 
and other income.

Capital structure
Equity ratio 
Shareholders’  equity  as  a  percentage  of 
total assets. 

2020

2019

5.8

44.5

0.0

50.4

55.4

-0.3

55.1

37.1

47.6

8.2

92.9

75.6

-0.5

75.1

2018

60.7

45.9

–

106.6

73.1

 –

73.1

2017

2016

38.4

39.5

0.3

78.2

42.0

–

42.0

-0.5

44.4

0.1

44.0

39.0

 –

39.0

Leverage ratio
Net interest bearing debt as a percentage of 
shareholders’ equity. 

Other
Number of employees 
Average number of employees fulltime. 

Investments 
Total investments during the year. 

Net cash
Cash and equivalents less interest bearing debt.

Profitability
Return on shareholders’ equity 
Net  result  as  percentage  of  average  share-
holders’ equity. 

Return on capital employed 
Net  result  plus  financial  costs  as  a  per-
centage of average capital employed (total 
assets less non interests-bearing liabilities). 

Shareholders’ equity per share 
Shareholders’ equity divided by the num-
ber of outstanding shares. 

Weighted average number of shares 
Number  of  shares  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year with newly issued shares time weighted 
for the period on issue.

Earnings per share 
Net result divided by the weighted number 
of shares.

Definitions and abbreviations

SEK

TSEK

MSEK

USD 

TUSD

Swedish krona 

Thousands of Swedish kronor

Millions of Swedish kronor 

US dollar 

Thousands of US dollars 

MUSD

Million US dollars 

One barrel of oil = 159 litres, 0.159 cubic meters

Oil production is often given in numbers of Barrels of 
Oil per Day

Thousand Barrels

Million Barrels

Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement

bbl

bopd

mbo

mmbo

EPSA

38

Administration report

Administration report

(This is an English translation of the Swedish original)

Tethys Oil AB (publ)

Tethys Oil Block 3 & 4 Ltd.

Blocks 3&4, Oman

Tethys Oil Services UK Ltd.

Block 49, Oman

Tethys Oil Montasar Ltd.

Tethys Oil Exploration AB

Tethys Oil France AB

Tethys Oil Invest AB

Tethys Oil Mena BV

Tethys Oil Oman Onshore Ltd.

Tethys Oil Oman Ltd.

Tethys Oil Qatbeet Ltd.

Block 56, Oman

Block 58, Oman

Gargzdai, Lituania

Odin Energy A/S

50%

UAB Minijos Nafta

50%

The  consolidated  financial  statements  of  the  Tethys  Oil  Group 
(hereafter  referred  to  as  “Tethys  Oil”  or  the  “Group”),  where 
Tethys Oil AB (publ) (the “Company”) with organisational num-
ber  556615-8266  is  the  parent  company,  are  hereby  presented 
for the twelve-month period ended on 31 December 2020. The 
amounts relating to the comparative period (equivalent period of 
last year) are shown in parenthesis after the amount for the current 
period. Segments of the Group are geographical markets.

OPERATIONS

Tethys Oil is a Swedish oil company with focus on onshore areas 
with  known  oil  discoveries. Tethys  Oil’s  core  area  is  the  Sultan-
ate of Oman, where the Group holds interests in the licenses for 
Blocks  3&4,  Block49,  Block  56  and  Block  58.  The  Company 
holds  a  30  percent  non-operated  interest  in  the  exploration  and 
production licence for Blocks 3&4, a 100 percent operated inter-
est in the exploration licence for Block 49 and Block 58 as well as 
a 20 percent non-operated interest in the exploration license for 
Block 56.

In October 2020 Tethys Oil entered into an agreement with Medco 
Arabia Ltd regarding a farm-in of 45 percent interest in Block 56. 
Upon closing Tethys Oil will have 65 percent interest and assume 
operatorship  of  the  license.  In  November  2020  Tethys  Oil  con-
cluded an agreement to farm-out 50 percent of its interest in the 
licence for Block 49 to EOG Resources Inc. (“EOG”). The agree-
ment  includes  an  option  for  EOG  to  acquire  the  rights  to  85% 
interest in unconventional exploration on the block. Both of the 
transactions received final government approval in the first quarter 
2021. For further information, see Note 26 Subsequent events.

Tethys  Oil  also  has  an  indirect  interest  in  a  minor  producing 
asset in Lithuania. The company is actively seeking to expand its 
operations  in  Oman,  and  the  surrounding  region.  Tethys  Oil’s 
operational approach is to explore, appraise and develop its assets 

Ownership in subsidiary companies is 100% unless otherwise stated.

concurrently allowing for continued operations to be funded from 
cash flow from production. This has resulted in continuous growth 
in both production and reserves over time.

Production
The  Group’s  reported  production  comes  from  Blocks  3&4  in 
Oman which averaged 11,336 barrels per day in 2020 compared 
to 12,832 barrels per day in 2019. The Group’s reported produc-
tion declined by 11 percent in 2020 compared to the year before 
and  amounted  to  4.1  million  barrels  (4.7  million  barrels).  The 
decline in production is a result of the imposition of production 
limitations on Blocks 3&4 starting May 2020 following the Sul-
tanate of Oman’s participation in the OPEC+ agreement. 

Production Entitlement
The terms of the Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement 
(“EPSA”) for Blocks 3&4 allows the joint operations partners to 
recover their costs from up to 40 percent of the value of total oil 
production on an annual basis, this is referred to as ‘cost oil’. After 
deducting any allowance for cost oil, the remaining production is 
split 80/20 between the government (“government take”) and the 
joint operations partners. If the costs incurred during the period 
exceeds the maximum 40 percent of production, it is carried for-
ward  to  be  recovered  in  future  periods  and  is  referred  to  as  the 
‘Cost Pool’. If there are no costs to be recovered, the joint opera-
tions partners receive 20 percent of the oil produced. The terms of 
the EPSA thus dictates that the joint operations partners’ share of 
production after government take to be in the range 20–52 per-
cent, depending on available recoverable cost. 

As  per  31  December  2019  there  was  no  unrecovered  cost  in  the 
Blocks 3&4 cost pool. During 2020 as oil prices declined not all 
cost incurred could be recovered resulting in a build-up of a cost 
pool  in  Blocks  3&4.  Net  entitlement  for  2020  was  52  percent 
(2019: 51 percent) of production. As per 31 December 2020 Tethys 
Oil’s net share of the cost pool balance was MUSD 1.8 (MUSD –).

39

Tethys Oil’s share of volumes, before government take

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

Tethys Oil’s share of annual production, bbl

Oman, Blocks 3&4

Production, bbl

4,148,818

4,683,754

4,294,852

4,439,118

4,436,438

Average daily production, bopd

11,336

12,832

11,767

12,162

12,121

Average daily production net to Tethys Oil, yearly

bopd

14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Reserves and contingent resources
Oman, Blocks 3&4
Tethys Oil’s net working interest Reserves in Blocks 3&4 Oman 
as at 31 December 2020 amount to 26,922 thousand barrels of 
oil (“mbo”) of Proven and Probable Reserves (2P). The 2P reserve 
Replacement Ratio amounts to 120 percent. In addition, Tethys 
Oil’s net working interest resources in Oman amounts to 13,904 
mbo of 2C Contingent Resources. The Company’s 2020 and 2019 
year-end Reserves reports were audited by ERC Equipoise Limited 
(“ERCE”) as independent qualified reserves evaluator.

Development of reserves, Blocks 3&4 (audited)

mbo

1P

2P

3P

Total 31 December 2019

17,336

26,112

36,919

Production 2020

Additions and revisions

-4,149

4,761

-4,149

4,959

-4,149

5,104

Total 31 December 2020

17,948

26,922

37,874

Reserve replacement ratio, %

115%

120%

123%

Additions  and  revisions  include  maturation  of  Contingent 
Resources to Reserves from the ongoing appraisal programme of 
Ulfa and Erfan fields as well as upside revisions of the Reserves on 
the Farha South and Shahd fields.

Based on ERCE’s model and current oil price assumptions, Tethys 
Oil’s  net  entitlement  Reserves  (Reserves  after  government  take) 
amount to 8,940 mbo of 1P, 12,176 mbo of 2P and 15,321 mbo 
of 3P.

In  addition  to  Reserves, Tethys  Oil  also  announces  net  working 
interest Contingent Resources. The bulk of the estimated Contin-
gent Resources are contained in the Ulfa, Samha and Erfan fields 
with a small contribution from the Anan-1 exploration well, a new 
discovery at the end of the 2020 Development of the Contingent 
Resources in the discoveries is continued contingent upon the on-
going appraisal programme, a committed work programme as well 
as budget to access these resources.

Contingent resources Blocks 3&4 (audited)

mbo

1C

2C

3C

Total 31 December 2020

5,022

13,904

27,911

The  audit  of  the  Reserves  in  Oman  has  been  conducted  using 
2018  Petroleum  Resources  Management  System  (PRMS2018), 
sponsored  by  the  Society  of  Petroleum  Engineers  (SPE),  World 
Petroleum  Council  (WPC),  American  Association  of  Petroleum 
Geologists  (AAPG)  and  Society  of  Petroleum  Evaluation  Engi-
neers (SPEE).

During 2020, Tethys Oil sold 2,317,875 barrels of oil from Blocks 
3&4, representing a 3 percent increase compared to 2019 when 
2,259,849  barrels  of  oil  were  sold.  The  increase  in  oil  sold  was 
offset by the 26 percent decrease in achieved oil price resulting in a 
revenue of MUSD 110.7 (MUSD 145.0), a 24 percent decline. In 
addition to revenue, there has been an adjustment for an increased 
overlift position amounting to MUSD -9.6 (MUSD 5.8) which 
together  with  revenue  adds  up  to  revenue  and  other  income  of 
MUSD 101.1, a 33 percent decline in 2020 compared to MUSD 
150.8 in 2019.

40

Revenue and other income

Oil sold, bbl

2,317,875

2,259,849

2,163,148

2,316,404

2,357,701

Underlift (overlift) movement, bbl

-160,490

123,238

70,174

-8,062

-50,754

Net barrels produced, after government take, bbl

2,157,385

2,383,086

2,233,322

2,308,342

2,306,947

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

Achieved oil price, USD/bbl

Revenue, MUSD

Underlift (overlift) adjustments, MUSD

Overlift adjustment reporting error, MUSD

47.7

110.7

-9.6

–

64.2

70.5

145.0

152.6

5.8

–

4.7

– 

Revenue and other income, MUSD

101.1

150.8

157.3

51.8

119.9

(0.6)

–

119.3

40.5

95.4

(2.4)

(5.9)

87.1

The achieved oil price (also known as the average selling price) in 
2020 was USD 47.7 (USD 64.2) per barrel.

Volumes  for  oil  sales  are  nominated  two  to  three  months  in 
advance and are not based upon the actual production in a month; 
as a result, sales volumes can be above or below production vol-
umes. Where the sales volume exceeds the quantity of barrels pro-
duced, an overlift position occurs and where it is less, an underlift 
position occurs. During the year, the group went from an underlift 
position of 157,321 barrels at the end of 2019 to an overlift posi-
tion of 3,169 barrels at the 31 December 2020. The valuation of 
both over- and underlift is based on market price at the balance 
sheet date.

Tethys Oil sells all of its oil through Mitsui Energy Trading Sin-
gapore, which is part of Mitsui & Co Ltd. All oil sales originate 
from Blocks 3&4 and are made on a monthly basis. Tethys Oil’s 
selling price is based on the Official Selling Price (OSP) as set by 
the Sultanate of Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas, in addition to 
trading and quality adjustments. The OSP is calculated using the 
monthly average price of the front month future contract of Oman 
Export blend (with 2 months to delivery) as traded on the Dubai 
Mercantile Exchange.

Operating expenses

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

Production costs, MUSD

40.3

47.2

42.6

32.6

33.5

Well workovers, MUSD

3.1

4.4

3.4

2.3

3.1

Production costs, well workovers and interventions together com-
prise  operating  expenses,  amounting  to  MUSD  43.4  in  2020 
(MUSD 51.6), a decrease of 16 percent compared to 2019. The 
decrease  in  costs  was  primarily  a  result  of  shutting  in  high  cost 
wells,  lower  fuels  costs  and  general  cost  savings  in  response  to 
lower oil prices and the production limitations.

Depletion, depreciation and amortisation

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

DD&A, MUSD

44.5

47.6

45.9

39.5

44.4

DD&A per barrel, USD

10.7

10.2

10.7

8.9

10.0

Depletion,  depreciation  and  amortisation  (“DD&A”)  for  2020 
amounted  to  MUSD  44.5  (MUSD  47.6),  which  is  lower  than 
2019 and is attributable to lower production offset by a somewhat 
higher DD&A rate per barrel. The DD&A charge relates mainly 
to Blocks 3&4.

Netback

USD/bbl

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

Achieved oil price

47.7

64.2

70.5

51.8

40.5

Revenue (after 
government take)

Operating expenses

Netback

24.8

10.5

14.4

31.1

36.7

27.0

21.0

11.1

10.7

7.9

8.2

22.3

26.0

19.1

12.8

43.4

51.6

45.9

34.9

36.5

The decrease in netback per barrel during 2020 is a result of the 
lower achieved oil price.

Total operating 
expenses, MUSD

Operating expenses per 
barrel, USD

10.5

11.0

10.7

7.9

8.2

Production  costs  relate  to  oil  production  on  Blocks  3&4,  and 
comprise expenses for throughput fees, energy, consumables, field 
staff,  maintenance,  as  well  as  administration,  including  operator 
overhead.  Well  workovers  and  interventions  relate  to  downhole 
work and replacing of electric submersible pumps enabling shut-in 
wells to restart production. The work programme for well worko-
vers and interventions was reduced resulting in a lower expendi-
ture compared to 2019.

Exploration Costs
The  exploration  costs  recorded  in  2020  was  MUSD  0.0  (2019: 
MUSD  8.2)  and  are  related  to  write-offs  of  minor,  early  stage 
exploration and new ventures activities. Exploration and appraisal 
costs  are  capitalised  as  they  are  incurred  and  subject  to  regular 
review. Dry or uneconomic wells are expensed when the recover-
ability of the costs is deemed highly unlikely.

Administrative expenses
Administrative expenses amounted to MUSD 7.3 for 2020 com-
pared to MUSD 7.0 during 2019 with the increase driven by an 
increase in staff and consultancy costs. Administrative expenses are 
mainly salaries, rents, listing costs and external services.

41

 
 
 
 
 
Net financial result
The net financial result for 2020 of MUSD -2.5 (MUSD 1.2) has 
been impacted by net losses due to changes in foreign exchange 
rates resulting from the appreciation of SEK against USD. Cur-
rency translation differences recorded on loans between the parent 
company and subsidiaries are non-cash related items.

Tax
Tethys Oil’s oil and gas operations in Oman are governed by an 
Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement for each licence 
(“EPSA”) whereby Tethys Oil receives its share of oil after govern-
ment take. Under the terms of each EPSA, Tethys Oil is subject 
to Omani income taxes and royalties, which are paid in full, on 
behalf of Tethys Oil from the government share of oil. The effect 
of these taxes is netted against revenue and other income in the 
income statement.

Result
Tethys Oil reports a net result after tax for 2020 of MUSD 3.3 
(MUSD  38.3),  representing  earnings  per  share  of  USD  0.10 
(USD  1.12).  The  result  for  2020  was  down  compared  to  2019 
mainly due to lower oil prices and lower production.

Investments and work programme

Country/Asset, 
MUSD

Book value 
31 Dec  
2020

Investments  
Jan–Dec  
2020

Book value 
31 Dec  
2019

Investments  
Jan–Dec  
2019

Oman Blocks 3&4

191.9

38.8

194.8

54.0

Oman Block 49

12.6

Oman Block 56

Oman Block 58

Lithuania

New ventures

8.8

1.8

–

0.3

4.6

0.2

1.8

–

–

8.0

8.6

–

–

0.3

Total

215.3

45.4

211.7

2.3

8.6

–

–

0.3

65.2

During 2020, total investments in oil and gas properties amounted 
to  MUSD  45.4  compared  to  MUSD  65.2  in  2019.  In  2020, 
investments  of  MUSD  38.8  related  to  Blocks  3&4,  MUSD  4.6 
to Block 49, MUSD 0.2 to Block 56 and MUSD 1.8 to Block 58.

Blocks 3&4

Investments Blocks 
3&4, MUSD

Drilling

G&G

Facilities

Total investments 
Blocks 3&4

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

19.4

25.0

25.5

26.6

30.3

9.2

10.1

11.2

10.2

18.9

13.7

4.2

9.1

4.5

13.4

38.8

54.0

50.4

39.9

48.2

Operations
Blocks 3&4
Tethys Oil’s share of production from Blocks 3&4 during 2020, 
before government take, was 4,148,818 barrels of oil, correspond-
ing to 11,336 barrels of oil per day. The 2020 average daily pro-
duction  was  12  percent  lower  than  in  2019  due  to  the  OPEC+ 
production limitations.

Production Limitations
In  April  2020  it  was  announced,  that  the  Sultanate  of  Oman 
was  party  to  the  OPEC+  agreement  on  production  limitations. 
Tethys Oil was subsequently informed by the operator that Blocks 
3&4 was to be subject to production limitations from May 2020. 
Tethys Oil’s net share of the production quota, before government 
take, for May-June 2020 was set to be 8,700 barrels per day and 
for the period July to December 2020, 9,300 barrels per day. The 
OPEC+  agreement  is  still  in  force  in  2021  and  Blocks  3&4  are 
subject  to  production  limitations.  The  production  from  Blocks 
3&4 has been permitted to deviate from the quotas on a monthly 
basis in 2020, and can also do so going forward. There is readiness 
to continue to produce above quotas if permitted.

The main objective of the 2020 work programme was to continue 
the development of the fields through development drilling, main-
tenance and upgrading of production facilities and infrastructure 
in addition to continued exploration drilling and seismic acquisi-
tion. The focus in the first quarter 2020 was particularly on devel-
opment drilling and production optimisation.

In  April  2020, and as a  response to the  sharp  drop in  oil prices 
in  March  2020,  increased  uncertainty  resulting  from  the  effects 
of  the  global  COVID-19  pandemic  and  production  limitations, 
plans were put in place to significantly reduce or defer expendi-
ture on Blocks 3&4 for the remainder of 2020. The target was to 
ensure the operations on Blocks 3&4 would remain, at minimum, 
cash  flow  neutral  for  the  full  year  at  current  market  conditions. 
The plans included a reduction of development activities, such as 
production drilling.

In the second quarter of 2020 and for the remainder of the year, 
operations  on  Blocks  3&4  shifted  from  the  original  2020  work 
program  to  a  new,  reduced  scope  work  programme  and  budget. 
Aside  for  completion  of  already  committed  upgrades  and  de-
bottlenecking  investments,  the  reduced  scope  included  reduced 
production drilling and facility upgrades, with focus primarily on 
projects critical for safety and asset integrity. Two rigs were put on 
standby in June and for the rest of the year while one drilling rig 
and one workover rig remained operational.

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, rigorous testing and 
quarantining procedures were put in place to mitigate the spread 
of the coronavirus at operating facilities. This resulted in the detec-
tion of a small number of infected employees and contractors on 
Blocks 3&4. In accordance with the routines, all infected person-
nel were quarantined, successfully preventing a general spread of 
the infection and enabling operations to proceed unaffected.

A total of 25 wells were completed during the year, 20 of which 
were  production  and  appraisal  wells  and  4  were  water  injection 
wells. In addition, one exploration well was drilled. Two rigs were 
put on standby in June 2020 while one drilling rig and one worko-
ver rig remained operational throughout the year.

Exploration activities
The acquisition of the final seismic in the 2019/2020 survey was 
completed in the beginning of 2020. More than 4,000 km2 of new 
seismic  has  been  collected  through  the  survey.  The  new  seismic 
covers the entire license area to the north of the Farha South field 
in Block 3. Multiple leads have been identified within this area, 

42

including leads in previously untested oil plays. The data has been 
processed and the final set of processed data has been handed over 
to the partner group for continued interpretation. 

assume operatorship of the block from Medco, who will retain a 5 
percent interest in the license. The transaction was approved by the 
government in February 2021.

The Anan-1 well, an Erfan analogue well, was drilled in the fourth 
quarter 2020 about 9 km west of the Erfan field in Block 4. The 
well  had  good  oil  flow  rates  from  target  formation  Khufai.  The 
well will be completed as a producer from the Khufai formation 
and will be connected to the EPF production system at Shahd F in 
the first quarter 2021 for a long-term production test as part of the 
appraisal of the discovery.

Block 49, Oman
The  work  programme  on  Block  49  was  focused  on  the  prepara-
tions for the drilling of the Thameen (“Precious”) prospect in the 
north eastern part of the block. In parallel seismic interpretations 
and overall geological modelling of Block 49 continued. 

Construction  at  the  drill  site  started  during  the  autumn  2020, 
including  construction  of  roads,  drill  pad,  and  camp.  Drilling 
operations  of  exploration  well  Thameen-1  commenced  at  31 
December 2020. The well is planned to be drilled to a depth of 
about  4,000  meters  and  drilling  operations  are  expected  to  last 
about  45  days.  Primary  target  is  the  Late  Ordovician  Hasirah 
Sandstone layer at a depth of 3,500 metres (TVD). A secondary 
target is the Mid-Ordovician Saih Nihayda Sandstone at a depth 
of 3,700 metres (TVD). In addition, the well will also investigate 
the shallower Gharif Sandstone as well as collect data to further 
enable an assessment of the hydrocarbon potential  of  the  block, 
both conventional and unconventional. 

The  drill  site  is  located  within  the  northern  part  of  Block  49  at 
Marsudad  village  in  the Wilayat  of  Muqhsin  in  the  South West 
of the Sultanate of Oman within the Governate of Dhofar. Tethys 
Oil,  through  its  wholly  owned  subsidiary  Tethys  Oil  Montasar 
Ltd, has signed a contract with Abraj Energy Services for the pro-
vision  of  the  Abraj-204  drilling  rig.  The  majority  of  the  capital 
spending related to the well is expected to be incurred in 2021. 

Tethys  Oil  entered  in  November  2020  into  an  agreement  with 
EOG  Resources  Oman  Block  49  Limited  (“EOG”),  a  wholly 
owned subsidiary of EOG Resources, Inc., for EOG to obtain a 
50 percent interest in the EPSA covering Block 49. As considera-
tion for both the 50 percent interest and access to data, EOG will 
refund all costs incurred on the Block and fund the Thameen-1 
exploration well, up to a combined amount of MUSD 15. Under 
the agreement, EOG will also have the option to assume operator-
ship  of  the  Block  and  increase  its  interest  to  85  percent  for  any 
operation relating to unconventional hydrocarbon resources. The 
agreement was finalized in 2021 after government approval.

In addition, Tethys Oil has been granted a one-year extension of 
the first exploration phase of the Block. Following the extension, 
the first phase will end in December 2021.

Block 56
In the fourth quarter 2020, Tethys Oil, entered into an agreement 
with Medco Arabia Ltd whereby Tethys will acquire a 45 percent 
interest in the exploration and production license covering Block 
56  onshore  Oman.  The  transaction  will  increase Tethys’  interest 
in Block 56 from 20 to 65 percent. Upon closing, Tethys Oil will 

In consideration for the 45 percent interest acquired, Tethys Oil 
will  pay  MUSD  5  to  Medco  and  will  also  carry  Medco  up  to 
MUSD 2 of future expenditure. The agreement further includes 
additional consideration in the case of a declaration of commerci-
ality under the terms of the license.

Tethys Oil acquired its initial 20 percent interest in the block in 
the fourth quarter 2019. Block 56 covers an area of 5,808 km2 in 
the south-eastern part of Oman approximately 200 km south of 
Blocks  3&4. Testing  operations  of  three  previously  drilled  wells 
were successfully completed in the first quarter 2020. One of the 
wells confirmed the presence of an active petroleum system with 
a  crude  oil  quality  of  20–25  degrees  API  and  medium  viscosity, 
although the commercial viability is yet to be determined.

The license for Block 56 is governed by an Exploration and Pro-
duction  Sharing  Agreement  signed  in  November  2014.  Its  ini-
tial three-year exploration ends in December 2020. The partners 
have elected to enter into the second exploration phase ending in 
December 2023. 

Block 58
Tethys  Oil  announced  in  early  July  2020  that  the  Government 
of  the  Sultanate  of  Oman  and  Tethys  Oil  had  entered  into  an 
Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) for Block 
58  onshore  Oman,  a  royal  decree  was  received  shortly  after  the 
announcement. Tethys Oil will through its wholly owned subsidi-
ary Tethys Oil Qatbeet Limited be the operator of the block and 
hold a 100% license interest. 

Block  58  is  located  in  the  Dhofar  Governorate  in  the  southern 
part  of  Oman,  adjacent  to  Tethys  Oil’s  operated  exploration 
licence Block 49. It covers an area of 4,557 km2. Block 58 strad-
dles the western flank of the South Oman Salt Basin and the West-
ern Deformation Front. A total of 7,600 km of 2D seismic and 
1,100 km2 of 3D seismic data acquired by previous operators has 
been  made  available  to Tethys  Oil  as  well  as  raw  logs  and  well 
reports from two wells drilled within the block boundaries. Both 
wells  encountered  hydrocarbon  shows.  Multiple  play  concepts 
are believed to exist within the block boundaries, including plays 
familiar to Tethys, with several leads identified. 

The EPSA for Block 58 covers an initial exploration period of three 
years with an optional extension period of another three years. In 
case of a commercial oil or gas discovery, the EPSA will be trans-
formed in to a 15 year production license which can be extended 
for another five years. In case of a commercial discovery, an Oman 
Government Company has a right to acquire up to a 30% inter-
est in Block 58 against refunding of past expenditure. The initial 
work commitments during the first period include a 3D seismic 
campaign and drilling of two exploration wells.

A review of legacy seismic 3D data was conducted in 2020, along 
with preparation of the work programme for 2021.

43

Financial and Production Guidance 2020
Following the announcement in April 2020 of the introduction of 
production limitations in Oman, Tethys Oil suspended its previ-
ously  announced  financial  guidance  for  2020  regarding  produc-
tion  (previously  12,600–13,400  bopd  before  government  take), 
investments  (previously  MUSD  50–64)  and  operating  expenses 
(previously USD 11.5 per barrel). 

Investments and work programme 2021
Tethys  Oil  expects  total  investments  in  oil  and  gas  properties 
for 2021 of MUSD 47, of which investments on Blocks 3&4 is 
expected  to  amount  to  MUSD  32.  The  focus  of  the  work  pro-
gramme  on  Blocks  3&4  is  continued  development  drilling, 
upgrading infrastructure with focus on asset integrity and debot-
tlenecking, continue the gas utilisation project and the drilling of 
exploration wells. The work programme on Block 49 is expected 
to amount to MUSD 5 with the main target to complete drilling, 
testing and evaluation of Thameen-1 exploration well. The work 
programme on Block 56 is expected to amount to MUSD 5 and 
is centred on evaluating the Al Jumd area by drilling of up to three 
wells and planning of a 3D seismic acquisition in the central area 
of  the  block.  The  work  programme  on  Block  58  is  expected  to 
amount to MUSD 5 with focus on reprocessing of legacy 3D seis-
mic data and conducting a new 3D seismic acquisition.

Financial and Production Guidance 2021
Tethys  Oil  expects  production  to  continue  to  fluctuate  on  a 
monthly  basis.  The  OPEC+  production  limitation  agreement  is 
still in place and oil demand could remain volatile as the Covid-19 
pandemic is not over. For the time being, Tethys Oil elects to not 
issue any guidance regarding production, operating expenses and 
net entitlement but will continue to publish monthly production 
updates.

Associated companies
Lithuania
Tethys Oil’s interest in the production licence Garzdai is held indi-
rectly  through  a  Danish  limited  liability  company  which  holds 
shares  in  the  Lithuanian  operating  company  which  holds  100 
percent  of  the  licence.  Consequently Tethys  Oil  has  an  effective 
25%  interest  in  the  Gargzdai  licence.  The  holding  in  Gargzdai 
is  consolidated  through  a  one-line  consolidation  in Tethys  Oil’s 
financial  statements  and  is  presented  in  the  balance  sheet  under 
“Investments in associates” and in the income statement as “Share 
of net profit/loss from associates”.

As at 31 December 2020, the value of the shareholding in the asso-
ciated  Danish  company  holding  the  interests  in  the  Lithuanian 
Gargzdai licences, amounted to MUSD 0.0 compared to MUSD 
0.0  at  the  end  of  2019.  Share  of  net  profit/loss  from  associated 
companies amounted to MUSD 0.0 as no dividends were received 
in 2020 (2019: MUSD: 0.7). The book value related to Minijos 
Nafta (Gargzdai) is zero, and as there are no formal or informal 
obligations related to Minijos Nafta, Tethys Oil does not recognize 
any negative net result from Minijos Nafta.

Liquidity and financing
Cash and bank as per 31 December 2020 amounted to MUSD 
55.4 compared to MUSD 75.6 as per 31 December 2019.

In May 2020, a dividend of SEK 2.00 per share was paid to share-
holders,  which  in  total  amounted  to  MUSD  7.0.  Furthermore, 
an  extra  ordinary  distribution  of  3.00  SEK  per  share,  MUSD 
10.6 was distributed to shareholders through a mandatory share 
redemption programme.

For the twelve months ended 31 December 2020, the cash flow 
from  operations  amounted  to  MUSD  52.1  (MUSD  96.0)  and 
cash flow used in investments in oil and gas amounted to MUSD 
45.4 (MUSD 65.2). For the twelve months of 2020, free cash flow 
(cash flow from operations less investments) amounted to MUSD 
6.7 (MUSD 31.4).

Tethys Oil’s ongoing operations on Blocks 3&4, Block 49, Block 
56, and Block 58 in Oman, including investment programme, and 
elsewhere are expected to be funded from cash flow from opera-
tions and from available funds.

Parent company
The  parent  company  reports  a  net  result  after  tax  for  2020 
amounting to MSEK 22.7 compared to MSEK 277.6 for 2019. 
Administrative expenses amounted to MSEK 48.2 for 2020 com-
pared to MSEK 43.1 for 2019. Net financial result amounted to 
MSEK  58.1  during  2020  compared  to  MSEK  303.6  for  2019. 
Dividends from subsidiaries amounting to MSEK 57.3 and cur-
rency exchange losses related to intercompany loans were the main 
reason for the net financial result.

Significant agreements and commitments
In Tethys Oil’s oil and gas operations, there are two main catego-
ries of agreements: one that governs the relationship with the host 
country, and one that governs the relationship with partners.

The agreements that govern the relationship with host countries 
are referred to as licences or Exploration and Production Sharing 
Agreements (EPSA or PSA). Tethys Oil holds its interests directly 
through  aforementioned  agreements  in  Oman.  The  agreements 
with  host  countries  have  a  time  limit  and  are  normally  divided 
into periods. Financial commitments and/or work commitments 
normally relate to the different periods. Tethys Oil has fulfilled its 
commitments  on  Blocks  3&4.  On  Block  49  and  Block  58,  the 
initial  work  commitments  during  the  first  period  includes  geo-
logical studies, seismic acquisition and processing and exploratory 
drilling.  On  Block  56,  the  second  exploration  period  includes  a 
3D seismic commitment and the drilling of one exploration well. 

The  agreements  that  govern  the  relationship  with  partners  are 
referred to as Joint Operating Agreements (JOA). In all areas of 
operation where Tethys Oil has partners, JOAs are in effect.

Other  than  the  aforementioned  agreements,  there  are  no  indi-
vidual  agreements  or  similar  circumstances  relating  to  the  busi-
ness which are of crucial significance for the group’s operations or 
profitability.

Board of Directors
At the AGM of shareholders on 13 May 2020 Robert Anderson, 
Alexandra Herger, Magnus Nordin, Per Seime and Geoffrey Tur-
bott were re-elected and Klas Brand was elected as members of the 
Board. No deputy directors were appointed. At the same meeting, 
Geoffrey Turbott  was  re-appointed  chairman  of  the  Board.  The 

44

work of the board is subject to an established work procedure that 
defines the distribution of work between the board and the manag-
ing director. The work procedure is evaluated each year and revised 
if deemed appropriate. The board had 13 meetings during 2020. 
The six members of the board have consisted of five non- executive 
directors and the managing director. The board has three commit-
tees – Audit Committee, Remuneration Committee and Techni-
cal Committee. Klas Brand is chairman of the audit committee, 
Per  Seime  is  chairman  of  the  remuneration  committee  and  Rob 
Anderson is chairman of the technical committee.

Organisation
At  the  end  of  the  year,  Tethys  Oil  had  an  average  number  of 
full-time employees of 23 (23). Of these, 8 (8) were women. In 
addition, contractors and consultants are engaged in Tethys Oil’s 
operations.

Remuneration policy
The guidelines for executive remuneration as agreed by the Annual 
General Meeting 2020 can be found in Note 12 and in the corpo-
rate governance report.

Sustainability report
In accordance with the Swedish Annual Accounts Act (ÅRL chap-
ter 6, §11) Tethys Oil has opted to issue the sustainability report 
as a document separate from the annual report. The sustainability 
report is available on the corporate website, www.tethysoil.com.

Group structure
Tethys Oil AB (publ), with organizational number 556615-8266, 
is the parent company in the Tethys Oil Group. Material subsidi-
aries  include  Tethys  Oil  Block  3&4  Limited,  Tethys  Oil  Mon-
tasar Limited, Tethys Oil Qatbeet Limited and Tethys Oil Oman 
Onshore  Limited.  The  Tethys  Oil  Group  was  established  on  1 
October  2003. The  Group  has  branch  offices  in  Muscat,  Oman 
and Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

Share data
As at 31 December 2020, the number of issued shares in Tethys 
Oil AB amount to 33,056,608 with a quota value of SEK 0.18. All 
shares represent one vote each. The number of shares has decreased 
by  3,238,352  during  2020  following  a  cancellation  of  treasury 
shares as resolved by the 2020 AGM. 

As  at  31  December  2020,  Tethys  Oil  held  315,552  of  its  own 
shares  which  were  purchased  since  the  commencement  of  the 
share  repurchase  programme  in  the  fourth  quarter  2020.  The 
main  purpose  of  the  share  repurchase  programme  is  to  give  the 
company flexibility regarding its equity and thereby optimize the 
capital structure of the company. Repurchased shares may also be 
used as payment for, or financing of, acquisitions of companies or 
businesses or in connection with handling of incentive programs. 
A total 1,599,741 shares were purchased by the company in 2020 
of  which  1,284,189  were  purchased  before  the  2020  AGM  and 
subsequently cancelled. The repurchased shares are still included 
in the total number of shares, but are not included in the average 
number  of  shares  outstanding. The  weighted  average  number  of 
shares outstanding during 2020 before dilution is 33,321,353 and 
after  dilution  33,328,099.  After  31  December  2020  and  up  to 
the date of publication for this report, Tethys Oil has acquired a 
further 120,088 shares.

Tethys Oil has a warrant-based incentive programme for employ-
ees  which  may  increase  the  number  of  shares  depending  on  the 
share  price  during  the  exercise  periods,  for  further  information 
please see note 22.

Seasonal effects
Tethys Oil has no significant seasonal variations.

Transactions with related parties
See note 25.

Risk and uncertainties
A statement of risks and uncertainties are presented in note 1.

Appropriation of profit
The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 2.00 per share 
(AGM 2020: SEK 2.00) equal to MSEK 65.2 (MSEK 66.1). The 
Board of Directors proposes an extraordinary distribution of SEK 
2.00  per  share  (AGM  2020:  SEK  3.00)  by  way  of  a  mandatory 
share redemption programme following the AGM 2021 equal to 
MSEK 65.2 (MSEK 99.2). It is also proposed that the balance of 
retained earnings after the dividend be retained in the business as 
described below.

MSEK

Retained earnings

Profit for the year

2020

140.1

22.7

162.8

2019

104.8

277.6

382.4

The Board of Directors proposes that these earnings be appropriated as follows:

To the shareholders, a distribution of SEK 2.00 
per share (AGM 2020: SEK 2.00)

65.2

66.1

To the shareholders, an extraordinary distribution 
of SEK 2.00 per share (AGM 2020: SEK 3.00)

To be retained in the business

65.2

32.4

162.8

99.2

217.1

382.4

Cash dividend
Tethys  Oil’s  board  of  directors  has  proposed  a  cash  dividend  of 
SEK  2.00  per  share  amounting  to  SEK  65,241,936  at  the  cur-
rent number of shares outstanding (net of treasury shares) and an 
extraordinary  distribution  of  SEK  2.00  per  share  amounting  to 
SEK 65,241,936. The dividend and extraordinary distribution are 
subject to approval at the AGM 2021. This is a total distribution 
of SEK 130,483,872. The preliminary record date for the dividend 
is 21 May 2021.

The  parent  company  has  distributable  earnings  (unrestricted 
equity) of MSEK 162.8 at 31 December 2020. Since the start of 
2021 Tethys has repurchased shares to a value of MSEK 6.5, leav-
ing a balance of MSEK 156.2 in unrestricted equity in the parent 
company. After the dividend and cash distribution of MSEK 130.5 
the parent company will have retained earnings of MSEK 25.7.

As per 31 December 2020, the Group’s and the parent company’s 
equity ratio amounted to 93.4 percent and 91.9 percent, respec-
tively. After the dividend, distribution and buyback, the Group’s 

45

 
and the parent company’s equity ratio will amount to 85.9 percent 
and 91.4 percent, respectively.

Tethys  Oil  has  generated  significant  cash  flows  in  recent  years 
and the Group’s financial position is strong. The board has con-
sidered the parent company and the consolidated Group’s needs 
through a comprehensive evaluation of the parent company’s and 
the Group’s financial position and the parent company’s and the 
Group’s possibilities to fulfil their commitments in the long term. 
The board of directors has concluded that despite uncertainties in 
the company’s operating environment, the parent company’s and 
the Group’s financial position gives rise to the conclusion than that 
the  parent  company  and  the  Group  can  continue  its  operations 
and meet its obligations in the short and long term and continue 
to make investments. The board believes that the size of the equity, 
even after the proposed dividend, is in reasonable proportion to 
the scale of the parent company’s and the Group’s business as well 
as the risks associated with conducting the business.

With  reference  to  the  above,  and  what  has  come  to  the  board’s 
attention,  it  is  the  board’s  assessment  that  the  parent  company’s 
and the Group’s financial position implies that the proposed divi-
dend is justifiable pursuant to Chapter 17, Section 3 second and 
third paragraph of the Swedish Companies Act, i.e. with reference 
to  the  requirements  that  the  nature,  scope  and  risks  of  business 
put on the size of the parent company’s and the Group’s equity as 
well as the parent company’s and the Group’s need to strengthen 
its balance sheet, liquidity and financial position.

Impact of Covid-19 pandemic
The outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic in the first quar-
ter of 2020 has had a profound effect on societies and economies 
across the world. Both the first and second order effects of the out-
break including the attempts to contain the contagion have been 
dramatic in the swiftness and impact.

From Tethys Oil’s perspective the primary objective has been, as 
always, to safeguard the health and safety of its staff while ensuring 
continued  operational  capacity.  Throughout  the  year  the  Com-
pany,  its  partners  and  subcontractors  have  continually  assessed 
the situation and its risks and implemented routines to ensure the 
wellbeing of the staff and maintained operations. Under challeng-
ing  circumstances  these  routines  have  shown  to  been  successful 
thus far.

The  oil  and  gas  industry  saw  the  effects  of  the  global  pandemic 
very early in 2020 as increased travel restrictions, lockdowns and 
generally reduced economic activity impacted the demand for its 
oil and oil products. The International Energy Agency (IEA) esti-
mated  that  oil  demand  in  the  second  quarter  2020  declined  by 
16  percent  compared  to  the  same  period  in  2019,  while  overall 
demand  in  2020  declined  by  almost  9  percent  compared  to  the 
year before. The sector hardest hit was transportation and in par-
ticular, the demand for jet fuel as global air travel declined. 

The impact of the drop in demand and shift to oversupply resulted 
in a significant drop in the oil price during the first half of 2020. 
Tethys Oil’s achieved oil price of USD 47.7 per barrel was almost 
26 percent below  the  2019 level of USD  64.2  and in combina-
tion  with  more  than  11  percent  lower  production  resulted  in  a 
decline in revenue and other income of over 30 percent. Despite 
the reduced expenditure, the operating result declined by over 80 
percent in 2020 as a consequence of the effects of the covid pan-
demic on the global demand for oil. 

To mitigate the effects of reduced demand and potential oversup-
ply the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) 
and a group of other oil exporting nations formed a cooperation 
called  OPEC+  which  worked  to  reduce  oil  output  and  reduce 
inventory  levels  following  the  exceptional  pandemic  events.  The 
OPEC+ included the Sultanate Oman, which resulted in produc-
tion limitations to be imposed on Blocks 3&4 starting May 2020. 

From a forward-looking perspective, IEA expects demand for oil 
to rebound in 2021 although it is not expected to return to pre-
covid  levels  until  the  end  of  2022.  The  longer  lasting  effects  of 
the pandemic on the global travel patterns, energy usage and eco-
nomic activity remain difficult to predict. Tethys Oil has continu-
ally re-evaluated and revised its long-term planning in light of the 
changing macroeconomic factors to ensure the sustainability and 
economic viability of its operations from a long-term perspective.

Financial statements
The  result  of  the  Group’s  and  parent  company’s  operations  and 
the financial position at the end of the financial year is shown in 
the following income statements, balance sheets, cash flow state-
ments, statements of changes in equity and related notes. Balance 
sheets  and  income  statements  will  be  resolved  at  the  AGM,  19 
May 2021.

46

Financial statements for the group

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

1 January – 31 December, MUSD

Revenue 

Underlift/overlift adjustments

Revenue and other income

Operating expenses

Gross profit

Depletion. depreciation and amortisation

Exploration costs

Share of net profit/loss from associates

Administrative expenses 

Operating result

Financial income and similar items

Financial expenses and similar items

Net financial result

Result before tax

Income tax

Net result

Other comprehensive income

Items that may be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss:

Currency exchange differences

Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income

Attributable to:

Shareholders in the parent company

Non controlling interest

Total number of shares at period end

Weighted average number of shares (before dilution)

Weighted average number of shares (after dilution)

Earnings per share (before dilution). USD

Earnings per share (after dilution). USD

2020

110.7

-9.6

101.1

-43.4

57.7

-44.5

-0.0

–

-7.3

5.8

7.8

-10.3

-2.5

3.3

-0.0

3.3

3.7

3.7

7.0

7.0

–

2019

145.0

5.8

150.8

-51.6

99.2

-47.6

-8.2

0.7

-7.0

37.1

1.7

-0.5

1.2

38.3

-0.0

38.3

-1.6

-1.6

36.7

36.7

 –

33,056,608

36,294,960

33,321,353

34,222,908

33,328,099

34,302,921

0.10

0.10

1.12

1.12

Note

4

 3

9

3,8

8

6

10–12,22

13

14

15

18

18

18

18

18

47

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Consolidated balance sheet

As at 31 December, MUSD

Note

2020

2019

ASSETS

Non current assets

Oil and gas properties

Other Fixed Assets

Current assets

Trade and other receivables

Prepaid expenses

Cash and cash equivalents

TOTAL ASSETS

SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY AND LIABILITIES

Shareholders' equity

Share capital

Additional paid in capital

Reserves

Retained earnings

Total shareholders' equity

Non current liabilities

Non-current provisions

Other non-current liabilities

Current liabilities

Accounts payable and other current liabilities

Total liabilities

8

19 

16

17

18

7

19

20

215.3

0.3

215.6

9.1

0.2

55.4

64.7

211.7

0.6

212.3

12.0

0.3

75.6

87.9

280.3

300.2

0.8

76.3

1.8

178.8

257.7

12.5

0.3

12.8

9.8

9.8

22.6

0.8

76.3

-1.9

201.1

276.3

9.6

1.4

11.0

12.9

12.9

23.9

TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY AND LIABILITIES

280.3

300.2

48

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Consolidated statement of changes in equity  
in summary

MUSD

Share capital

Paid in capital

Reserves

Retained earnings

Total equity

Attributable to shareholders of the parent company

Opening balance 1 January 2019

0.8

74.0

Net result 2019

Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income

Transactions with owners

Share issue

Repurchase of shares

Dividend

Share redemption

Incentive programme

Total transactions with owners

Closing balance 31 December 2019

Opening balance 1 January 2020

Net result 2020

Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income

Transactions with owners

Repurchase of shares

Dividend

Share redemption

Incentive programme

Total transactions with owners

–

–

–

 –

–

–

–

–

–

0.8

0.8

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

2.3

– 

–

–

–

2.3

76.3

76.3

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

-0.3

–

-1.6

-1.6

–

–

–

–

–

–

-1.9

-1.9

–

3.7

3.7

–

–

–

–

–

Closing balance 31 December 2020

0.8

76.3

1.8

193.1

38.3

–

38.3

–

-2.1

-7.1

-21.4

0.3

-30.3

201.1

201.1

3.3

– 

3.3

-8.3

-7.0

-10.6

0.3

-25.6

178.8

267.6

38.3

-1.6

36.7

2.3

-2.1

-7.1

-21.4

0.3

-28.0

276.3

276.3

3.3

3.7

7.0

-8.3

-7.0

-10.6

0.3

-25.6

257.7

49

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Consolidated cash flow statement

1 January – 31 December, MUSD

Note

2020

2019

13

14

8

8

18

Cash flow from operations

Operating result

Interest received

Interest paid

Adjustment for exploration costs

Adjustment for depletion, depreciation and other non-cash related items

Total cash flow from operations before change in working capital

Change in receivables

Change in liabilities

Cash flow from operations

Investment activity

Investment in oil and gas properties

Investment in other fixed assets

Cash from associated companies, net

Cash flow from investment activity

Financing activity

Share issue

Repurchase of shares

Dividend

Share redemption

Cash flow from financing activity

Period cash flow

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period

Exchange gains/losses on cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period

5.8

0.1

-0.0

–

46.2

52.2

3.0

-3.1

52.1

-45.4

–

–

-45.4

–

-8.3

-7.0

-10.6

-25.9

-19.2

75.6

-1.0

55.4

37.1

0.8

-0.0

8.2

46.0

92.1

5.9

-2.0

96.0

-65.2

-0.1

0.7

-64.6

2.3

-2.1

-7.1

-21.4

-28.3

3.1

73.1

-0.6

75.6

50

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Financial statements for the parent company

Parent company income statement

1 January – 31 December, MSEK

Revenue

Share of net profit/loss from associates

Administrative expenses

Operating result

Financial income and similar items

Financial expenses and similar items

Net financial result

Result before tax

Income tax

Net result1

Note

5

6

10–12, 22

13

14

15

2020

12.8

–

-48.2

-35.4

146.8

-88.7

58.1

22.7

–

22.7

2019

10.7

6.4

-43.1

-26.0

303.8

-0.2

303.6

277.6

–

277.6

1  As the parent company does not recognise any Other comprehensive income, no such report is presented.

51

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Parent company balance sheet

As at 31 December, MSEK

Note

2020

2019

ASSETS

Non-current assets

Shares in subsidiaries

Long term receivables from subsidiaries

Investment in associates

Current assets

Other receivables

Prepaid expenses

Cash and cash equivalents

TOTAL ASSETS

SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY AND LIABILITIES

Shareholders' equity

Restricted equity:

Share capital

Statutory reserve

Unrestricted equity:

Share premium reserve

Retained earnings

Net result

Total shareholders' equity

Current liabilities

Accounts payable and other current liabilities

Other current liabilities to group companies

Total liabilities

TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY AND LIABILITIES

21

25

6

16

18

20

25

1.0

338.0

–

339.0

2.1

0.7

36.2

39.0

378.0

6.0

71.1

530.3

-390.2

22.7

239.9

9.8

128.3

138.1

378.0

1.0

446.2

–

447.2

0.1

0.8

25.4

26.3

473.5

6.0

71.1

530.3

-425.5

277.6

459.5

5.4

8.6

14.0

473.5

52

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Parent company statement of changes in equity

Restricted equity

Unrestricted equity

MSEK

Share
capital

Statutory 
reserve

Share 
premium
reserve

Opening balance 1 January 2019

5.9

71.1

508.4

Transfer of prior year net result

Net result 2019*

Net result

Transactions with owners

Share issue

Repurchase of shares

Dividend

Share redemption

Incentive programme

Total transactions with owners

Closing balance 31 December 2019

Opening balance 1 January 2020

Transfer of prior year net result

Net result 2020*

Net result

Transactions with owners

Repurchase of shares

Dividend

Share redemption

Incentive programme

Total transactions with owners

–

–

–

0.1

–

–

–

–

0.1

6.0

6.0

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

– 

–

–

– 

–

–

–

–

71.1

71.1

–

– 

–

– 

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

21.9

–

–

–

–

21.9

530.3

530.3

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Closing balance 31 December 2020

6.0

71.1

530.3

*  As the parent company does not recognise any Other comprehensive income, no such report is presented.

Retained
earnings

-379.5

244.4

–

–

–

-20.1

-68.5

-205.5

3.7

-290.4

-425.5

-425.5

277.6

–

–

-79.6

-66.1

-99.2

2.6

-242.3

-390.2

Net
result

244.4

-244.4

277.6

277.6

–

–

–

–

–

–

277.6

277.6

-277.6

22.7

22.7

–

–

–

–

–

22.7

Total equity

450.3

0.0

277.6

277.6

22.0

-20.1

-68.5

-205.5

3.7

-268.4

459.5

459.5

0.0

22.7

22.7

-79.6

-66.1

-99.2

2.6

-242.3

239.9

53

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Parent company cash flow statement

1 January – 31 December, MSEK

Note

2020

2019

Cash flow from operations

Operating result

Interest received

Interest paid

Adjustment for other non-cash related items

Total cash flow from operations before change in working capital

Change in receivables

Change in liabilities

Cash flow from operations

Investment activity

Dividend from Group companies

Investment from long term receivables

Cash flow from investment activity

Financing activity

Share issue

Repurchased shares

Dividend payment

Share redemption

Cash flow from financing activity

Period cash flow

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period

Exchange gains/losses on cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period

 13

14

 13

18

-35.4

–

–

27.5

-7.9

-2.0

4.4

-5.5

–

271.6

271.6

–

-79.6

-66.1

-99.2

-244.9

21.2

25.4

-10.4

36.2

-26.0

0.7

-0.2

4.0

-21.5

2.4

-3.7

-22.8

87.1

-7.9

79.2

22.0

-20.2

-68.5

-205.5

-272.2

-215.8

240.2

1.0

25.4

54

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes

Notes

General information
Tethys Oil AB (publ) (“the Company”), corporate identity number 556615-
8266,  and  its  subsidiaries  (together  “the  Group”  or  “Tethys  Oil”)  are 
focused on exploration for and production of oil and natural gas. The Group 
has interests in exploration licences in Oman and Lithuania. The Company 
is a limited liability company incorporated and domiciled in Stockholm, Swe-
den. The Company is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.

These  consolidated  and  parent  company  financial  statements  have  been 
approved for issue by the Board of Directors on 9 April 2021.

Basis of preparation
The annual report of the Group and the parent company Tethys Oil AB has 
been prepared in accordance with prevailing International Financial Report-
ing Standards (IFRS) and IFRS Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) interpreta-
tions adopted by the EU Commission and the Swedish Annual Accounts Act 
(1995:1554).  In  addition,  RFR  1  “Supplementary  Rules  for  Groups”  has 
been applied as issued by the Swedish Financial Reporting Board.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires the 
use of certain critical accounting estimates. It also requires management 
to exercise its judgement in the process of applying the Group’s accounting 
policies. The areas involving a higher degree of judgement or complexity, or 
areas where assumptions and estimates are significant to the consolidated 
financial statements are disclosed in note 2.

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared under the his-
torical cost basis unless disclosed in the accounting policies below.

Accounting principles
The accounting principles applied in the preparation of these consolidated 
financial  statements  are  set  out  below.  The  same  accounting  principles 
were used in the 2019 annual report. The annual report of the Group has 
been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Stand-
ards  (IFRS)  as  adopted  by  the  EU,  the  Annual  Accounts  Act  and  RFR  1 
“Supplementary rules for groups”. The annual report for the parent com-
pany has been prepared in accordance with the Annual Accounts Act and 
Swedish  Financial  Accounting  Standards  Council’s  RFR  2  “Accounting  for 
legal entities”. RFR 2 means that the parent company in the annual report 
for the legal entity shall apply IFRS’ rules and statements as adopted by 
the EU, so far this is possible within the framework of the Annual Accounts 
Act and with regard to the connection between accounting and taxation. The 
recommendation states which exceptions and additions that shall be or are 
allowed to be made from IFRS. The accounting principles of the parent com-
pany are the same as for the Group, except in the cases specified below in 
the section entitled “Parent company accounting principles”.

New accounting principles for 2020 and 2021
IASB  issued  several  amended  accounting  standards  that  were  endorsed 
by EU, effective date 1 January 2020. None of these had a material effect 
on the Group financial statements 2020. New accounting principles 2021, 
issued by IASB with effective date 1 January 2021 will not have a material 
effect on the Group financial statements 2021.

Principles of consolidation
Subsidiaries  are  all  entities  (including  structured  entities)  over  which  the 
Group has control. The Group controls an entity when the Group is exposed 
to, or has rights to variable returns from, its involvement with the entity and 
has the ability to affect those returns through its power over the entity. Sub-
sidiaries are fully consolidated from the date on which control is transferred 
to the Group. They are de-consolidated from the date that control ceases.

The Group uses the acquisition method of accounting to account for busi-
ness combinations. The consideration transferred for the acquisition of a 
subsidiary is the fair values of the assets transferred, the liabilities incurred 
and the equity interests issued by the Group. The consideration transferred 
includes the fair value of any asset or liability resulting from a contingent 
consideration  arrangement.  Acquisition-related  costs  are  expensed  as 
incurred. Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabili-
ties assumed in a business combination are measured initially at their fair 
values at the acquisition date. On an acquisition-by-acquisition basis, the 

Group recognizes any non-controlling interest in the acquired asset either 
at fair value or at the non-controlling interest’s proportionate share of the 
acquired net assets.

Inter-company transactions, balances and unrealized gains and losses on 
transactions  between  subsidiaries  are  eliminated.  Accounting  policies  of 
subsidiaries  have  been  changed  where  necessary  to  ensure  consistency 
with the policies adopted by the Group.

Joint arrangements
Under  IFRS  11  Joint  Arrangements,  investments  in  joint  arrangements 
are  classified  as  either  joint  operations  or  joint  ventures.  The  classifica-
tion  depends  on  the  contractual  rights  and  obligations  of  each  investor, 
rather than the legal structure of the joint arrangement. Tethys Oil has joint 
operations.

Joint operations
Tethys Oil recognizes its direct right to the assets, liabilities, revenues and 
expenses  of  joint  operations  and  its  share  of  any  jointly  held  or  incurred 
assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. These have been incorporated 
in the financial statements under the appropriate headings. The Group con- 
ducts oil and gas operations as a joint operation that does not have a sepa-
rate  legal  entity  status  through  licences  which  are  held  jointly  with  other 
companies. The Groups financial statements reflect the Group’s share of 
production, capital costs, operational costs, current assets and liabilities 
in the joint operations.

Associated companies
An investment in an associated company is an investment in an undertak-
ing where the Group exercises significant influence but not control, gener-
ally accompanying a shareholding of at least 20 percent but not more than 
50 percent of the voting rights. Such investments are accounted for in the 
consolidated  financial  statements  in  accordance  with  the  equity  method 
and  are  initially  recognized  at  cost.  The  difference  between  the  acquisi-
tion  cost  of  shares  in  an  associated  company  and  the  net  fair  value  of 
the assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities of the associated company 
recognized at the date of acquisition is recognized as goodwill. The goodwill 
is included within the carrying amount of the investment and is assessed 
for impairment as part of the investment. The Group’s share in the post- 
acquisition results of the associated company is recognized in the income 
statement and the Group’s share in post-acquisition movements in other 
comprehensive income of the associated company is recognized directly in 
other comprehensive income of the Group. When the Group’s accumulated 
share of losses in an associated company equals or exceeds its interest 
in the associated company, the Group does not recognize further losses, 
unless it has incurred obligations or made payments on behalf of the asso-
ciate. Dividends from associated companies are presented in the balance 
sheet under “Investments in associates” and in the income statement as 
“Share of net profit/loss from associates”.

Unrealized gains on transactions between the Group and its associates are 
eliminated to the extent of the Group’s percentage in the associates. Unre-
alized losses are also eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence 
of an impairment of the asset transferred. Accounting policies of associ-
ates have been changed where necessary to ensure consistency with the 
policies adopted by the Group.

Foreign currencies
Items included in the financial statements of each of the Group’s entities 
are measured using the currency of the primary economic environment in 
which the entity operates (‘functional currency’). The consolidated financial 
statements  are  presented  in  US  dollars  (USD)  which  is  the  currency  the 
Group has elected to use as the presentation currency.

Transactions and balances
Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are trans-
lated  at  the  rates  of  exchange  prevailing  at  the  balance  sheet  date  and 
foreign exchange currency differences are recognized in the income state-
ment. Transactions in foreign currencies are translated at exchange rates 
prevailing  at  the  transaction  date.  Exchange  differences  are  included  in 
financial  income/expenses  in  the  income  statement,  except  for  deferred 

55

exchange differences relating to hedge accounting, which are accounted for 
in other comprehensive income. Goodwill and fair value adjustments arising 
on the acquisition of a foreign entity are treated as assets and liabilities 
of the foreign entity and translated at the balance sheet rate of exchange.

Presentation currency
The  balance  sheets  and  income  statements  of  foreign  subsidiaries  are 
translated  for  consolidation  purposes  using  the  current  rate  method.  All 
assets  and  liabilities  of  the  subsidiary  companies  are  translated  at  the 
balance  sheet  date  rates  of  exchange,  whereas  the  income  statements 
are translated at average rates of exchange for the year, except for trans-
actions where it is more relevant to use the rate of the day of the trans-
action.  The  translation  differences  that  arise  are  recorded  directly  in  the 
foreign  currency  translation  reserve  within  other  comprehensive  income. 
Upon  disposal  of  a  foreign  operation,  the  translation  differences  relating 
to that operation will be transferred from equity to the income statement 
and included in the result on sale. Translation differences arising from net 
investments  in  subsidiaries,  used  for  financing  exploration  activities,  are 
recorded directly in other comprehensive income.

For the preparation of the financial statements for the reporting period, the 
following exchange rates have been used.

31 December 2020

31 December 2019

Currency

Average

Period end

Average

Period end

SEK/USD

SEK/EUR

9.19

10.49

8.19

10.04

9.51

10.66

9.48

10.55

Segment reporting
Operating segments are based on geographic perspective and reported in 
a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the Executive 
Management.

Classification of assets and liabilities
Non-current assets, long-term liabilities and provisions consist for the most 
part solely of amounts that are expected to be recovered or paid more than 
twelve  months  after  the  balance  sheet  date.  Current  assets  and  current 
liabilities consist solely of amounts that are expected to be recovered or 
paid within twelve months after the balance sheet date.

Oil and gas properties
Oil and gas properties are initially recorded at historical cost, where it is 
probable  that  they  will  generate  future  economic  benefits.  All  costs  for 
acquiring  concessions,  licences  or  interests  in  production  sharing  con-
tracts  and  for  the  survey,  drilling  and  development  of  such  interests  are 
capitalised on a field area cost centre basis. This includes capitalisation 
of  decommissioning  and  restoration  costs  associated  with  provisions 
for  asset  retirement  (see  “Provisions”).  Oil  and  gas  properties  are  sub-
sequently  carried  at  cost  less  accumulated  depreciation,  depletion  and 
amortization (including any impairment). Gains and losses on disposals are 
determined by comparing the proceeds with the carrying amounts of assets 
sold and are recognised in income.

Routine maintenance and repair costs for producing assets are expensed 
to the income statement when they are incurred.

Proceeds from the sale or farm-out of oil and gas concessions in the explo-
ration stage are offset against the related capitalised costs of each cost 
centre with any excess of net proceeds over all costs capitalised included 
in the income statement. In the event of a sale in the exploration stage any 
deficit is included in the income statement.

Oil and gas properties are categorised as either producing or non-producing.

Depreciation, depletion, and amortization
Producing oil and gas properties are depleted on a unit of production basis 
over the proved and probable reserves of the field concerned, except in the 
case  of  assets  whose  useful  lives  differ  from  the  lifetime  of  the  field,  in 
which case the straight-line method is applied.

tion of a field area is charged to the income statement once commercial 
production commences, under Depletion, depreciation and amortisation.

Proved  reserves  are  those  quantities  of  petroleum  which,  by  analysis  of 
geological  and  engineering  data,  can  be  estimated  with  reasonable  cer-
tainty  to  be  commercially  recoverable,  from  a  given  date  forward,  from 
known reservoirs and under current economic conditions, operating meth-
ods and governmental regulations. Proved reserves can be categorised as 
developed  or  undeveloped.  If  deterministic  methods  are  used,  the  term 
reasonable  certainty  is  intended  to  express  a  high  degree  of  confidence 
that  the  quantities  will  be  recovered.  If  probabilistic  methods  are  used, 
there should be at least a 90 percent probability that the quantities actually 
recovered will equal or exceed the estimates.

Probable reserves are those unproved reserves which analysis of geologi-
cal and engineering data suggests are more likely than not to be recover- 
able.  In  this  context,  when  probabilistic  methods  are  used,  there  should 
be at least a 50 percent probability that the quantities actually recovered 
will equal or exceed the sum of estimated proved plus probable reserves.

Exploration costs
Exploration  costs  relate  to  non-producing  oil  and  gas  properties  and  are 
recognised in the income statement when a decision is made not to pro-
ceed with an oil and gas project, or when expected future economic benefits 
of an oil and gas project are less than capitalised costs. No depletion is 
charged to non-producing oil and gas properties.

Costs  related  to  non-producing  oil  and  gas  properties  and  directly  asso-
ciated  with  an  exploration  well  are  capitalised  until  the  determination  of 
reserves is evaluated. If it is determined that a commercial discovery has 
not  been  achieved,  these  exploration  costs  are  charged  to  the  income 
statement as exploration costs.

The field will be transferred from the non-production cost pool to the pro-
duction cost pool within oil and gas properties once commercial production 
commences and accounted for as a producing asset.

Impairment
Tethys Oil continuously assesses its producing oil and gas properties for 
any need for impairment. This is performed in conjunction with each bal-
ance sheet date or if there are events or changes in circumstances that 
indicate that carrying values of assets may not be recoverable. Such indica-
tors include changes in the Group’s business plans, relinquished licences, 
changes in raw materials prices leading to lower revenues and, for oil and 
gas properties, downward revisions of estimated reserve quantities.

Testing for impairment losses is performed for each cash generating unit, 
which corresponds to licence right, production sharing agreement or equiva-
lent owned by Tethys Oil. A cash generating unit thus usually corresponds 
to each acquired asset in each country in which Tethys  Oil  carries on oil 
and  gas  operations.  Impairment  testing  means  that  the  balance  sheet 
item amount for each cash generating unit is compared to the recoverable 
amount for the assets, which is the higher of the fair value of the assets 
less sales expenses and the value in use. The value in use of the assets is 
based on the present value of future cash flows discounted by a discount 
rate; see also note 8 under the section Impairment testing. An impairment 
loss is recorded when an asset’s or a cash generating unit’s recorded value 
exceeds  the  recoverable  amount.  Impairment  losses  are  charged  to  the 
income statement.

Interest
Interest on borrowings to finance the acquisition of producing oil and gas 
properties  is  charged  to  income  as  incurred.  Interest  on  borrowings  to 
finance fields under development is capitalised within oil and gas proper-
ties until production commences.

Valuation principles financial items
The Group classifies its financial assets in the following categories: at fair 
value through profit or loss, loans and receivables and other liabilities. The 
classification depends on the purpose for which the financial assets were 
acquired. Management determines the classification of its financial assets 
at initial recognition.

In accordance with the unit of production method, net capitalised costs to 
reporting date, together with anticipated future capital costs for the devel-
opment  of  the  proved  and  probable  reserves  determined  at  the  balance 
sheet date price levels, are depleted based on the year’s production in rela-
tion to estimated total proved and probable reserves of oil and gas. Deple-

Tethys  Oil  reports  a  financial  asset  or  a  financial  liability  in  the  balance 
sheet  when  it  becomes  a  party  to  the  instrument’s  contractual  terms. 
Tethys  Oil  derecognises  a  financial  liability  or  part  thereof  when  the  obli-
gation stated in the relevant contract is fulfilled or otherwise terminated.

56

a)  Financial assets and liabilities at fair value through profit or loss
Financial assets and liabilities at fair value through profit or loss are finan-
cial assets held for trading. Financial assets and liabilities are classified in 
this category if acquired principally for the purpose of selling in the short 
term. Derivatives are also categorised as held for trading unless they are 
designated as hedges. Assets and liabilities in this category are classified 
as current assets or liabilities if expected to be settled within 12 months; 
otherwise, they are classified as non-current. The Group did not have any 
financial assets held for trading during 2020.

b)  Receivables and other receivables
Receivables and other receivables are non-derivative financial assets with 
fixed  or  determinable  payments  that  are  not  quoted  in  an  active  market. 
They  are  included  in  current  assets,  except  for  maturities  greater  than 
12 months after the end of the reporting period. These are classified as 
non-current  assets.  The  group’s  receivables  comprise  ‘Trade  and  other 
receivables’ in the balance sheet. Receivables and other receivables are 
recognised initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised 
cost using the effective interest method. Assets are also measured less 
provision for impairment.

c)  Other liabilities
Other liabilities are non-derivative financial liabilities with fixed or determi-
nable payments that are not quoted in an active market. They are included 
in current liabilities, except for maturities greater than 12 months after the 
end of the reporting period. These are classified as non-current liabilities. 
Other liabilities are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently meas-
ured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

d)  Impairment of financial assets
The group assesses on a forward-looking basis the expected credit losses 
associated with its debt instruments carried at amortised cost and FVOCI. 
The impairment methodology applied depends on whether there has been 
a significant increase in credit risk. For trade receivables, the group applies 
the simplified approach permitted by IFRS 9, which requires expected life-
time  losses  to  be  recognised  from  initial  recognition  of  the  receivables. 
The carrying amount of the asset is reduced and the amount of the loss is 
recognised in the consolidated income statement.

Fixed assets other than oil and gas
Other tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated deprecia-
tion. Depreciation is based on cost and is calculated on a straightline basis 
over the estimated economic life of 3 to 5 years for office equipment and 
other assets.

Additional  costs  to  existing  assets  are  included  in  the  assets’  net  book 
value  or  recognised  as  a  separate  asset,  as  appropriate,  only  when  it  is 
probable that future economic benefits associated with the item will flow to 
the Group and the cost of the item can be measured reliably.

The  net  book  value  of  any  replaced  parts  is  written  off.  Other  additional 
expenses are deemed to be repair and maintenance costs and are charged 
to the income statement when they are incurred. The net book value is writ- 
ten down immediately to its recoverable amount when the net book value 
is higher. The recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less 
cost to sell and value in use.

Leasing
Tethys Oil recognizes right of use assets and lease liabilities arising from 
all leases in the balance sheet, with some exceptions. This model reflects 
that, at the start of a lease, the lessee always obtains the right to use an 
asset for a period of time and has an obligation to pay for that right.

The  right  of  use  asset  is  initially  measured  at  cost,  which  equals  the 
amount  of  the  initial  measurement  of  the  lease  liability  adjusted  for  any 
lease  payments  made  at  or  before  the  commencement  date.  The  lease 
liability is initially measured at the present value of the lease payments that 
are not paid at the commencement date, discounted at the rate implicit in 
the lease or if it cannot be determined at the incremental borrowing rate.

Under IFRS 16 Tethys Oil applies the exceptions for short-term leases and 
leases for which the underlying asset is of low value. The standard applies 
primarily  to  the  accounting  of  the  Group’s  operational  leases.  IFRS  16 
Leases does not apply to joint operations unless operated by Tethys Oil. In 
the case of joint operations operated by Tethys Oil, the group recognises its 
interest share of the value of the underlying assets and corresponding lia-
bilities of the leases in its consolidated group accounts. At present Tethys 

Oil  does  not  have  any  leases  under  IFRS  16  from  joint  operations  in  its 
group accounts. The short-term leases and the leases for which the under-
lying asset is of low value are office leases and IT servers/programmes and 
other leases of shorter duration or lesser value.

Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and in hand, short-term 
deposits, money market funds and commercial paper that have a maturity 
of three months or less at the date of acquisition.

Equity
Share capital consists of the registered share capital for the parent com-
pany.  Share  issue  costs  associated  with  the  issuance  of  new  equity  are 
treated as a direct reduction of proceeds. Excess contribution in relation to 
the issuance of shares is accounted for in the item additional paid-in-capital.

Should any Group company purchase parent company shares (repurchase 
of own shares) the proceeds including any directly attributable transaction 
costs (net after tax) will reduce equity attributable to the shareholders of 
the parent company until the shares are annulled or realized. If the shares 
are  realized,  proceeds  net  after  directly  attributable  issue  costs  and  tax 
effects are shown in equity attributable to the shareholders of the parent 
company.

The  currency  translation  reserve  contains  unrealised  translation  differ-
ences due to the conversion of the functional currencies into the presenta-
tion currency.

Retained  earnings  contain  the  accumulated  results  attributable  to  the 
shareholders of the parent company.

Provisions
A provision is reported when Tethys Oil has a legal or constructive obligation 
as a consequence of an event and when it is more likely than not that an 
outflow of resources is required to settle the obligation and a reliable esti-
mate can be made of the amount. Provisions are measured at the present 
value of the expenditures expected to be required to settle the obligation 
using a pre-tax rate that reflects current market assessments of the time 
value of money and the risks specific to the obligation. The increase in the 
provision due to passage of time is recognised as financial expense.

On fields where the Group is required to contribute to site restoration costs, 
a  provision  is  recorded  to  recognise  the  future  commitment.  An  asset  is 
created, as part of the oil and gas properties, to represent the discounted 
value of the anticipated site restoration liability and depleted over the life 
of  the  field  on  a  unit  of  production  basis.  The  corresponding  accounting 
entry to the creation of the asset recognises the discounted value of the 
future  liability.  The  discount  applied  to  the  anticipated  site  restoration 
liability is subsequently released over the life of the field and is charged 
to financial expenses. Changes in site restoration costs and reserves are 
treated prospectively and consistent with the treatment applied upon initial 
recognition.

Revenue
Revenue from the sale of oil and gas are recognised in the income state-
ment net of royalties in kind or in cash (government take). Revenue associ-
ated with the sale of crude oil are recognised at the fair value of the con-
sideration received or receivable when the significant risks and rewards of 
ownership have been transferred, which is when title passes from Tethys Oil 
to the customer. For Tethys Oil’s operations, customers take title when the 
crude oil is loaded onto a tanker. Revenue is only recognised to the extent 
that it is highly probable that a significant reversal will not occur.

Underlift and overlift
Oil  sale  volumes  are  nominated  in  advance  and  are  not  based  upon  the 
actual production in a month; as a result, the Company’s oil sales volumes 
can be above or below production entitlement volumes. Where the oil sales 
volume  exceeds  the  volume  of  entitlement  barrels  produced,  an  overlift 
position occurs and where it is less, an underlift position occurs. Underlift/ 
overlift  positions  are  taken  into  account  for  future  oil  sales  nominations, 
aiming at balancing the position. Underlifts are recorded as Other receiva-
bles valued at market value, and overlifts are recorded in Other current lia-
bilities and accrued at the market value. Underlifts are reversed from Other 
receivables when the crude oil is lifted and sold. Overlifts are reversed from 
Other current liabilities when sufficient volumes are produced to make up 
the overlifted volume.

57

Profit oil and cost recovery
Blocks 3&4, Tethys Oil’s only producing oil and gas property, is governed 
by an Exploration and Production Sharing Contract (EPSA). Under the EPSA, 
revenues are derived from cost recovery oil and gas and profit oil and gas. 
Cost recovery oil and gas allows Tethys Oil to recover a majority of invest-
ments and operating expenses (CAPEX and OPEX) incurred. Profit oil and 
gas  is  split  between  the  host  government  and  join  operations  parties  in 
accordance with a fixed percentage. The joint operations partners split the 
cost  recovery  oil  and  gas  and  profit  oil  and  gas  in  accordance  with  their 
respective equity interests.

Other
Incidental revenues from the production of oil and gas are offset against 
capitalised costs of the related cost centre until quantities of proven and 
probable  reserves  are  determined  or  commercial  production  has  com-
menced.  Service  income,  generated  by  providing  technical  and  manage-
ment services to joint operations, is recognised as other income.

Impact of Covid-19 pandemic
The  outbreak  of  the  global  coronavirus  pandemic  in  the  first  quarter  of 
2020 has had a profound effect on societies and economies across the 
world. Both the first and second order effects of the outbreak including the 
attempts  to  contain  the  contagion  have  been  dramatic  in  the  swiftness 
and impact.

From  Tethys  Oil's  perspective  the  primary  objective  has  been,  as  always, 
to  safeguard  the  health  and  safety  of  its  staff  while  ensuring  continued 
operational  capacity.  Throughout  the  year  the  Company,  its  partners  and 
subcontractors have continually assessed the situation and its risks and 
implemented routines to ensure the wellbeing of the staff and maintained 
operations. Under challenging circumstances these routines have shown to 
been successful thus far.

The oil and gas industry saw the effects of the global pandemic very early 
in 2020 as increased travel restrictions, lockdowns and generally reduced 
economic  activity  impacted  the  demand  for  its  oil  and  oil  products.  The 
International  Energy  Agency  (IEA)  estimated  that  oil  demand  in  the  sec-
ond  quarter  2020  declined  by  16  percent  compared  to  the  same  period 
in 2019, while overall demand in 2020 declined by almost 9 percent com-
pared to the year before. The sector hardest hit was transportation and in 
particular, the demand for jet fuel as global air travel declined. 

The  impact  of  the  drop  in  demand  and  shift  to  oversupply  resulted  in  a 
significant  drop  in  the  oil  price  during  the  first  half  of  2020.  Tethys  Oil's 
achieved  oil  price  of  USD  47.7  per  barrel  was  almost  26  percent  below 
the 2019 level of USD 64.2 and in combination with more than 11 percent 
lower production resulted in a decline in revenue and other income of over 
30 percent. Despite the reduced expenditure, the operating result declined 
by over 80 percent in 2020 as a consequence of the effects of the covid 
pandemic on the global demand for oil. 

To  mitigate  the  effects  of  reduced  demand  and  potential  oversupply  the 
Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and a group of other 
oil exporting nations formed a cooperation called OPEC+ which worked to 
reduce oil output and reduce inventory levels following the exceptional pan-
demic events. The OPEC+ included the Sultanate Oman, which resulted in 
production limitations to be imposed on Blocks 3&4 starting May 2020. 

From forward-looking perspective, IEA expects demand for oil to rebound in 
2021 although it is not expected to return to pre-covid levels until the end 
of 2022. The longer lasting effects of the pandemic on the global travel pat-
terns, energy usage and economic activity remain difficult to predict. Tethys 
Oil has continually re-evaluated and revised its long-term planning in light 
of  the  changing  macroeconomic  factors  to  ensure  the  sustainability  and 
economic viability of its operations from a long-term perspective.

Income taxes
Presented income taxes include tax payable or tax receivable for the report-
ing period, adjustments in regard to previous year’s taxes and changes in 
deferred tax.

Valuations of all tax liabilities/claims are in nominal amounts and are pre-
pared in accordance with tax legislation and tax rates decided or announced 
and at which they are likely to be resolved.

The tax expense for the period comprises current and deferred tax. Tax is 
recognised  in  the  income  statement,  except  to  the  extent  that  it  relates 
to  items  recognised  in  other  comprehensive  income  or  directly  in  equity. 

In this case, the tax is also recognised in other comprehensive income or 
directly in equity, respectively. Deferred income tax is recognised, using the 
liability method, on temporary differences arising between the tax bases of 
assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts in the consolidated finan-
cial  statements.  Deferred  income  tax  assets  are  recognised  only  to  the 
extent that it is probable that future taxable profit will be available against 
which the temporary differences can be utilised.

Employee benefits
Short-term employee benefits such as salaries, social premiums and holi-
day pay, are expensed when incurred.

Pension obligations
The majority of the pension obligations of the Group are governed by legally 
required social costs. Additional pension schemes exist which are funded 
through payments to insurance companies. These are defined contribution 
plans. A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which the group 
pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. The Group has no legal or 
constructive obligations to pay further contributions should this legal entity 
not  hold  sufficient  assets  to  pay  all  employees  the  benefits  relating  to 
employee service in the current or prior periods.

Share based incentive programme
Equity-settled  share-based  payments  are  recognized  in  the  income  state-
ment as administrative expenses and as equity in the balance sheet. The 
option  is  recognised  at  fair  value  at  the  date  of  grant  using  the  Black  & 
Scholes options pricing model and is charged to the income statement. 

Severance pay
Severance  pay  is  payable  when  employment  is  terminated  by  the  Group 
before the normal retirement date, or whenever an employee accepts volun-
tary redundancy in exchange for the severance pay. The Group recognises 
severance  pay  when  it  is  demonstrably  committed  to  either  terminating 
the employment of current employees according to a detailed formal plan 
without possibility of withdrawal or providing severance pay as a result of 
an offer made to encourage voluntary redundancy. Benefits falling due more 
than 12 months after the balance sheet date are discounted to their pre-
sent value.

Related party transactions
Tethys Oil recognises the following related parties: associated companies, 
jointly controlled entities, members or the family of the key management 
personnel or other parties that are partly, directly or indirectly, controlled by 
key management personnel or of its family or of any individual that controls, 
or has joint control or significant influence over the entity.

Parent company accounting principles
The  parent  company  has  prepared  its  annual  report  in  compliance  with 
the  Swedish  Annual  Accounts  Act,  recommendation  RFR  2,  Accounting 
for Legal Entities of the Swedish Financial Reporting Board. IFRS 9 is not 
applied in the financial reporting. The accounting principles of the parent 
company deviate from the accounting principles of the group in respect of 
IFRS  16  Leasing,  since  the  parent  company  accounts  for  leasing  agree-
ments as operating leases. The Parent company only has office leases and 
IT-servers/-programs and other leases concerning items of lesser value.

Financial instruments
Assets and liabilities are recognised initially at fair value plus transaction 
costs and subsequently measured at amortised cost unless stated other-
wise.  Financial  assets  are  derecognised  when  the  rights  to  receive  cash 
flows from the investments have expired or have been transferred and the 
Group has transferred substantially all risks and rewards of ownership.

Subsidiaries
Holdings  in  subsidiaries  are  recognised  in  the  parent  company  financial 
statements according to the cost method of accounting. The values of sub-
sidiaries are tested for impairment when there is an indication of a decline 
in the value.

Group contributions
The parent company uses the alternative method in accounting for group 
contributions and records paid as well as received contributions as appro-
priations in the income statement.

Taxes
The  parent  company’s  financial  statements  recognise  untaxed  reserves 
including  deferred  tax.  The  consolidated  financial  statements,  however, 
reclassify untaxed reserves to deferred tax liability and equity.

58

Note 1, Risk management
The  Group’s  activities  expose  it  to  a  number  of  risks  and  uncertainties 
which are continuously monitored and reviewed. Presented below are the 
main risks and uncertainties of the group as identified by the directors and 
how the group handles these risks.

Operational risk management
Technical and geological risk
Tethys  Oil  is  producing  and  exploring  for  oil  and  appraising  undeveloped 
known oil and/or natural gas accumulations. The operational risk is differ-
ent in the different parts of Tethys Oil’s operations. The main operational 
risk in exploration and appraisal activities is that the activities and invest-
ments made by Tethys Oil and its partners will not evolve into commercial 
reserves of oil and gas.

Oil price
The oil price is of significant importance to Tethys Oil in all parts of opera-
tions  as  income  and  profitability  is  and  will  be  dependent  on  prices  pre-
vailing from time to time. Significantly lower oil prices will reduce current 
and expected profitability in projects and can make projects sub economic. 
Lower  oil  prices  could  also  decrease  the  industry  interest  in  Tethys  Oil’s 
projects regarding farmout or sale of assets. There were no oil price hedges 
in place as at 31 December 2020.

Tethys  Oil’s  has  a  flexible  approach  towards  oil  price  hedging,  based  on 
an  assessment  of  the  benefits  of  the  hedge  contract  in  specific  circum-
stances. Based on analysis of the circumstances Tethys Oil will assess the 
benefits of forward hedging sales contracts for the purpose of establishing 
a secured cash flow.

Net result in financial statements (MUSD)

Shift in oil price (USD/barrel)

Total effect on net result (MUSD)

3.3

5.0

11.6

3.3

-5.0

-11.6

Access to equipment
An operational risk factor is access to equipment in Tethys Oil’s projects. 
Especially  in  the  drilling/development  phase  of  a  project,  the  Group  is 
dependent on advanced equipment such as rigs, casing, pipes etc. A short-
age of these supplies can present difficulties for Tethys Oil to fulfil projects. 
Limited access to drilling rigs has in the past led to cost increases and has 
in part been the cause of project delays.

Political risk
Tethys Oil has operations, alone or with partners, in several different coun-
tries and can therefore be subject to political risk. The political risks are 
monitored and factored in when evaluating possible projects. Asset diversi-
fication is again Tethys Oil’s principal approach to deal with this risk. Spe-
cifically, Tethys Oil also deals with political risk by emphasising continuous 
close  dialog  with  host  country  authorities  and  interest  groups,  nationally 
as well as locally. Tethys Oil holds its oil and gas interest through licences, 
directly or indirectly, which are granted by national governments. Tethys Oil’s 
operations are often also subject to local permits. Therefore, Tethys Oil and 
the industry are subject to a wide range of political risks on different levels 
and the business is highly sensitive to political changes.

In  recent  years  OPEC  and  associated  countries  have,  from  time  to  time, 
agreed  to  voluntary  production  limitations.  Oman  has  in  the  past  partic-
ipated  in  such  agreements.  As  of  May  2020  oil  production  in  Oman  is 
subject  to  production  limitations  under  the  OPEC+  agreement.  As  a  con-
sequence of the OPEC+ agreement Tethys Oil’s production on Blocks 3&4 
is  subject  to  production  limitations  until  December  2021.  Going  forward 
Tethys  Oil  cannot  rule  out  the  risk  of  prolonged  or  new  such  limitations 
impacting its oil and gas production and sales.

Environment
Oil and gas operations can be environmentally sensitive. Tethys Oil devotes 
considerable effort and expense to identify and mitigate any perceived envi-
ronmental risk. The operations are subject to extensive regulatory control 
with  regard  to  environmental  matters,  both  on  national  and  international 
levels.  Environmental  legislation  regulates  inter  alia  the  control  of  water 
and air contamination, waste material, licensing requirements, restrictions 
on carrying out operations in environmentally sensitive and littoral areas.

Key personnel
Tethys Oil is dependent on certain key personnel, one of whom has founded 
the Company at the same time as he is among the existing shareholders 

and  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Company.  These  people 
are important for the successful development of Tethys Oil. The Company 
actively tries to strike an optimal balance between its dependence of key 
personnel and its methods for retaining these.

Licences
Tethys Oil’s direct interests are held through  agreements with host coun-
tries, for example licences or production sharing agreements. These agree-
ments are often limited in time and there are no guarantees that the agree-
ments can be extended when a time limit is reached.

Financial risk management
The Group’s activities expose it to a variety of financial risks, mainly catego-
rized as exchange rate risk and liquidity risk. The Group’s risks are continu-
ously monitored and analysed by the Board of Directors and management. 
The aim is to minimise potential adverse effects on the Group’s financial 
performance.

Foreign currency risk
The Group is exposed to fluctuations in the foreign exchange markets as 
fluctuations  in  exchange  rates  can  negatively  affect  the  result,  cash  flow 
and  equity.  The  major  proportion  of  the  Group’s  assets  relate  to  interna-
tional oil and gas discoveries valued in USD and which generate revenues 
in  USD.  During  2020,  all  of  Tethys  Oil’s  oil  sales  and  operative  expendi-
tures were denominated in USD with a share of general and administrative 
expenses being denominated in SEK. The exchange risk affects the Group 
by transaction risk and translation risk.

Transaction risk
Transaction exposure arises in the cash flow when invoicing or the costs of 
invoiced goods and services are not in the local currency. The Group only 
has limited costs in currencies other than USD, primarily relating to the SEK 
costs in the parent company. Presented below is the exposure to currencies 
with reference to items in the financial statements:

Revenue

Investments

2020

2019

100% in USD

100% in USD

99.8% in USD

99.8% in USD

External financing at year end

None

None

Tethys  Oil  does  not  currently  use  derivative  contracts  to  hedge  exchange 
rates. The Group policy is that cash held in bank should be in USD, except 
for a short period in order to have sufficient amounts of SEK in the Parent 
company  to  pay  dividend  and  share  redemption.  Furthermore,  there  are 
relatively  minor  amounts  in  SEK  held  in  the  Parent  company,  in  order  to 
reduce exchange rate exposure.

Translation risk
Exchange-rate changes affect the Group’s operating profit in conjunction with 
the translation of the income statements of Group entities to USD. When 
net assets are translated into USD the translation can negatively affect the 
Group’s  statement  of  financial  position.  The  parent  company  has  issued 
loans to its subsidiaries denominated in USD and exchange rate changes 
impact the income statement of the parent company. The Group does not 
hedge  its  translation  exposure  and  fluctuating  currency  rates  might  nega-
tively affect the operating profit and financial position of the Group.

Liquidity risk and capital risk
By operating in several countries, Tethys Oil is exposed to currency fluctua-
tions. Income is and will also most likely be denominated in foreign curren-
cies, US dollars in particular. Furthermore, Tethys Oil has since inception 
been equity and debt financed through share and bond issues, bank loans 
and also financed by asset divestment. Additional capital could be needed 
to finance Tethys Oil’s future operations and/or for acquisition of additional 
licences. The main risk is that this need could occur during less favourable 
market conditions. Tethys Oil continuously ensures that sufficient cash bal-
ances are maintained in order to cover day to day operations. Management 
relies on cash forecasting to assess Tethys Oil’s cash position based on 
expected future cash flows.

Tethys Oil’s financial liabilities

31 December 2020

31 December 2019

MUSD

< 1 year

< 1 year

Accounts payable and other liabilities

Total

9.8

9.8

12.9

12.9

59

Credit risk
Tethys  Oil’s  policy  is  to  limit  credit  risk  by  limiting  the  counterparties  to 
major  banks  and  oil  trading  companies.  Tethys  Oil  is  selling  all  of  its  oil 
through Mitsui Energy Trading Singapore which is part of Mitsui & Co. Ltd., 
with  30  days  payment  from  bill  of  lading.  As  at  31  December  2020  the 
Group’s  receivables  on  oil  sales  amounted  to  MUSD  8.9  (MUSD  12.0), 
this also represents the maximum exposure on accounts receivable. There 
is no history of default and the Group does currently not anticipate future 

credit losses. Cash and cash equivalents are maintained with banks having 
strong long-term credit ratings. Maximal exposure regarding other financial 
assets is those presented in the balance sheet.

It  is  the  responsibility  of  the  Board  of  Directors  to  overview  the  Group’s 
capital  structure  and  financial  management,  approve  certain  business 
regarding  acquisition,  investments,  possible  lending  as  well  as  on-going 
monitoring exposure to financial risks.

IFRS 9 valuation categories and related balance sheet items

MUSD

through profit or loss

amortised cost

amortised cost

through profit or loss

amortised cost

amortised cost

Financial assets and 

liabilities at fair value 

Financial  

assets at  

Financial  

Financial assets and 

liabilities at  

liabilities at fair value 

Financial  

assets at  

Financial  

liabilities at  

31 December 2020 

31 December 2019

Trade and other receivables

Cash and bank

Other non-current liabilities

Accounts payables and other  
current liabilities 

–

–

–

–

9.1

55.4

–

–

–

–

0.3

9.8

–

–

–

–

12.0

75.6

–

–

–

–

1.4

12.9

All  financial  assets  and  liabilities  are  current  and  the  fair  value  of  these 
are deemed to be the carrying amount as the discounting effects are not 
material. 

Events after the balance sheet date
All  events  up  to  the  date  when  the  financial  statements  were  authorised 
for issue and which have a material effect in the financial statements have 
been disclosed.

Note 2,  Critical accounting estimates and judgements
Estimates  and  judgements  are  continuously  evaluated  and  are  based  on 
historical  experience  and  other  factors,  including  expectations  of  future 
events which are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The 
Group makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The esti-
mates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material 
adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets within the next financial year 
are discussed below.

Estimates in oil and gas reserves and resources
The business of the Group is the exploration for, development of and pro- 
duction  of  oil  and  gas  reserves.  Estimates  of  oil  and  gas  reserves  and 
resources are used in the calculations for impairment tests, in-house mod-
elling  and  accounting  for  depletion  and  site  restoration.  Changes  in  esti-
mates in oil and gas reserves and resources, resulting in different future 
production  profiles,  will  affect  the  discounted  cash  flows  used  in  impair-
ment  testing,  the  anticipated  date  of  site  decommissioning  and  restora-
tion  and  the  depletion  charges  in  accordance  with  the  unit  of  production 
method. Estimates in oil and gas reserves and resources may change fol-
lowing  for instance  new  wells,  long term  production  data  and  changes  in 
macroeconomic data.

Site restoration provision
Amounts  used  in  recording  a  provision  for  site  restoration  are  estimates 
based on current legal and constructive requirements and current technol-
ogy and price levels for the removal of facilities and plugging and abandon-
ing of wells. Due to changes in relation to these items, the future actual 
cash outflows in relation to the site decommissioning and restoration can 
be  different.  To  reflect  the  effects  due  to  changes  in  legislation,  require-
ments and technology and price levels, the carrying amounts of site resto- 
ration provisions are reviewed on a regular basis. The effects of changes 
in estimates do not give rise to prior year adjustments and are treated pro-

spectively over the estimated remaining commercial reserves of each field. 
While  the  Group  uses  its  best  estimates  and  judgement,  actual  results 
could differ from these estimates.

Impairment of oil and gas properties
Tethys Oil continuously assesses its producing oil and gas properties for 
any need for impairment testing. This is performed in conjunction with each 
balance sheet date or if there are events or changes in circumstances that 
indicate that carrying values of assets may not be recoverable. Such indica-
tors include changes in the Group’s business plans, relinquished licences, 
changes in oil prices leading to lower revenues and, for oil and gas proper- 
ties, downward revisions of estimated reserve quantities.

Testing for impairment losses is performed when necessary for each cash 
generating  unit,  which  corresponds  to  licence  right,  production  sharing 
agreement or equivalent owned by Tethys Oil. A cash generating unit thus 
usually corresponds to each acquired asset in each country in which Tethys 
Oil carries on oil and gas operations. Impairment testing means that the 
balance sheet item amount for each cash generating unit is compared to 
the recoverable amount for the assets, which is the higher of the fair value 
of the assets less sales expenses and the value in use. The value in use 
of the assets is based on the present value of future cash flows discounted 
by a discount rate; see also note 8 under the section Impairment testing. 
An impairment loss is recorded when an asset’s or a cash generating unit’s 
recorded  value  exceeds  the  recoverable  amount.  Impairment  losses  are 
charged to the income statement.

Tax
Tethys Oil has not recorded a deferred tax asset in relation to the tax losses 
carried forward as there is uncertainty as to if the tax losses may be utilised 
note 15.

60

Note 3, Segment information 
The Group accounting principle for segment describes that operating seg-
ments  are  based  on  geographic  perspective  and  reported  in  a  manner 
consistent with the internal reporting which is primarily based on income 
statement ratios and provided to the executive management, which is con-

sidered to be the chief operating decision maker. The operating result for 
each segment is presented below. Revenue and income relate to external 
(non-intra group) transactions.

MUSD

Revenue and other income

Operating expenses

Depreciation, depletion and amortisation

Exploration costs

Share of net profit/loss from associates

Administrative expenses

Operating result

Total financial items

Result before tax

Income tax

Net result

MUSD

Revenue and other income

Operating expenses

Depreciation. depletion and amortisation

Exploration costs

Share of net profit/loss from associates

Administrative expenses

Operating result

Total financial items

Result before tax

Income tax

Net result

Oman

101.1

-43.4

-44.3

–

–

-2.5

10.8

–

10.8

–

10.8

Oman

150.8

-51.6

-47.4

-7.9

–

-3.0

40.9

–

40.9

–

40.9

Group income statement Jan–Dec 2020

Lithuania

Sweden

Other

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

-0.2

-0.0

–

-3.9

-4.1

–

-4.1

–

-4.1

–

–

–

–

–

-0.9

-0.9

–

-0.9

 -0.0

-0.9

Group income statement Jan–Dec 2019

Lithuania

Sweden

Other

–

–

–

–

0.7

–

0.7

–

0.7

–

0.7

–

–

-0.2

-0.3

–

-3.4

-3.9

–

-3.9

–

-3.9

–

–

–

–

–

-0.6

-0.6

–

-0.6

–

-0.6

Total

101.1

-43.4

-44.5

-0.0

–

-7.3

5.8

-2.5

3.3

-0.0 

3.3

Total

150.8

-51.6

-47.6

-8.2

0.7

-7.0

37.1

1.2

38.3

 –

38.3

Oman is Tethys Oil’s only oil producing area from which revenue is recorded 
as at 31 December 2020 (and comparative periods). Revenue, depletion 
and operating expenses, which is presented in notes 4, 8 and 9, therefore 

only relate to Oman and Blocks 3&4 in particular. Regarding Oil and gas 
properties, segment reporting is provided in note 8. Please refer to note 1 
regarding Credit risk exposure on accounts receivables.

Note 4, Revenue and other income

MUSD

Revenue

Underlift (+) / overlift (–), adjustments

Revenue and other income

2020

110.7

-9.6

101.1

2019

145.0

5.8

150.8

Tethys  Oil  sells  all  of  its  oil  to  Mitsui  Energy  Trading  Singapore,  which  is 
part of Mitsui & Co Ltd. All oil sales come from Blocks 3&4 Oman and are 
made  on  a  monthly  basis.  Tethys  Oil’s  average  selling  price  is  based  on 
the monthly average price of the two-month future contract of Oman blend 
as traded on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, including trading and quality 
adjustments.

Note 5, Other income
Parts of the administrative expenses in Tethys Oil, such as overhead costs 
in the parent company, have been charged out to oil and gas projects within 
the  group.  Other  income  in  the  parent  company  during  2020  amounted 
to  MSEK  12.8  (10.7).  In  case  of  Tethys  Oil  being  the  operator  in  joint 
operations, these administrative expenditures are, through the above, also 
funded by the partner if such partners exist. The charge out to joint opera-

tions projects where Tethys Oil is operator is presented in the consolidated 
income  statement  as  other  income  to  the  extent  it  is  related  to  interest 
not held by Tethys Oil. All other internal charge outs are eliminated in the 
consolidated financial statements. Tethys Oil is as at 31 December 2020 
operators in Block 49 and Block 58 in Oman and hold 100% of the licenses 
interest.

Note 6, Associated companies 
Tethys Oil AB holds an indirect interest in the Gargzdai license in Lithuania. 
No dividend was received from the holding company during 2020 compared 
to MUSD 0.7 in 2019.

Group MUSD

Parent MSEK

2020

2019

2020

2019

Tethys Oil’s share of net profit from 

associated companies

–

0.7

–

6.4

61

Note 7, Provisions
Tethys Oil estimates that Tethys Oil’s share of site restoration regarding Blocks 
3&4  at  year  end  2020  amounts  to  MUSD  12.5  (MUSD  9.6).  As  a  conse-
quence of the revised site restoration provision, oil and gas properties have 
increased  by  an  equal  amount.  The  change  in  provision  follows  an  annual 
review  of  the  site  restoration  calculation  where  the  number  of  wells  drilled 

is one of the main components that affect the provision’s net present value. 
2019 Tethys Oil had a non-current liability of MUSD 3.0 relating to the Export 
Reporting  Error.  Final  settlement  was  agreed  in  the  first  quarter  2019  and 
outstanding  amounts  are  treated  as  liabilities  as  opposed  to  provisions  in 
previous year.

MUSD

1 January 2020

Changes in estimates

Unwinding of discount

31 December 2020

Current

Non-current

Total

Abandonment 

Export  

provision

reporting error

Total

MUSD

Abandonment 

Export  

provision

reporting error

9.6

2.3

0.6

12.5

–

12.5

12.5

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

9.6

2.3

0.6

1 January 2019

Payments and transfer to liabilities

Changes in estimates

12.5

Unwinding of discount

–

31 December 2019

12.5

12.5

Current

Non-current

Total

6.9

–

2.2

0.5

9.6

–

9.6

9.6

3.0

-3.0

–

–

0.0

–

–

0.0

Total

9.9

-3.0

2.2

0.5

9.6

–

9.6

9.6

Note 8, Oil and gas properties
The  agreements  that  govern  the  relationship  with  host  countries  are 
referred to as licenses or Exploration and Production Sharing Agreements 
(EPSA or PSA). Tethys Oil holds its interest directly through a forementioned 
agreements in Oman. The agreements with host countries have a time limit 
and are normally divided into periods. Financial commitments and or work 
commitments normally relates to the different periods. Tethys Oil has ful-
filled its commitments on Blocks 3&4. In Block 49, 56 and 58 the initial 

work commitments during the first period include geological studies, seis-
mic acquisition and processing and exploratory drilling. In the other areas 
of  operations,  the  commitments  are  either  fulfilled  or  there  are  no  com-
mitments of which Tethys Oil can be held liable for. In some of Tethys Oil’s 
areas of interest there are requirements of work to be done or minimum 
expenditures in order to retain the license, but no commitments of which 
Tethys Oil can be held liable for.

Country

Licence

Phase

Expiration date

Tethys Oil

Partners (operator in bold)

Oman

Oman

Oman

Oman

Blocks 3 & 4

Production/Exploration

July 2040

Block 491

Block 562

Block 583

Exploration

Exploration

Exploration

Dec 20211

Dec 2023

July 2023

Lithuania

Gargzdai4

Production

No expiration date

30%

100%

20%

100%

25%

CCED, Mitsui, Tethys Oil

Tethys Oil

Medco Arabia Ltd, Intaj LLC, Tethys Oil and Biyaq Oil Field Services

Tethys Oil

Odin, GeoNafta, Tethys Oil

1  The initial three-year exploration period for the exploration and production sharing agree-
ment (EPSA) for Block 49 was, in 2020, extended by one year to December 2021. At 
expiration of the initial period Tethys Oil has the right to enter into a second three year 
exploration period. In case of a commercial oil or gas discovery, the EPSA will be trans-
formed in to a 15 year production licence with the option of a further five year extension. 
In case of a commercial discovery Oman Government Company, has a right to acquire 
up to a 30% interest in Block 49 against refunding of past expenditure. The initial work 
commitments during the first period include geological studies, seismic acquisition and 
processing and exploratory drilling.

2  The  initial  exploration  period  for  the  EPSA  for  Block  56  expired  in  December  2020, 
whereby the partners elected to enter into the second exploration period, which expires 
in December 2023. In case of a commercial oil or gas discovery, the EPSA will be trans-
formed in to a 20 year production licence with the option of a further five year extension. 
In case of a commercial discovery Oman Government Company, has a right to acquire 
up to a 25% interest in Block 56 against refunding of past expenditure. The work com-
mitments during the second period include geological studies, seismic acquisition and 
processing and exploratory drilling.

3  Tethys Oil entered into the initial three year exploration period of the EPSA for Block 58 
in July 2020. At expiration of the initial period in July 2023, Tethys Oil has the right to 
enter  into  a  second  three  year  exploration  period.  In  case  of  a  commercial  oil  or  gas 
discovery, the EPSA will be transformed in to a 15 year production licence with the option 
of a further five year extension. In case of a commercial discovery Oman Government 
Company, has a right to acquire up to a 30% interest in Block 58 against refunding of 
past expenditure. The initial work commitments during the first period include geological 
studies, seismic acquisition and processing and exploratory drilling.

4  The interest in the Lithuanian Gargzdai licence is held indirectly through a 50 percent 
shareholding in a Danish private company, which in turn holds 50 percent of the shares 
in the Lithuanian company which holds 100 percent of the licence interest. The Danish 
company Odin Energi is not consolidated in Tethys Oils financial statements due to the 
ownership structure, which is why there is no oil and gas property related to the licence. 
The  ownership  of  Odin  Energi  is  presented  in  the  balance  sheet  under  Investment  in 
associates

MUSD

Producing cost pools

Non-producing cost pools

Total oil and gas properties

MUSD

Licence

Phase

share

31 Dec 2020

Investments

adjustments

Tethys Oil’s 

Book value 

Other non-cash 

Blocks 3&4

Production/Exploration

30%

Block 49

Exploration

Block 56

Exploration

Block 58

Exploration

100%

20%

100%

New ventures

Total

191.9

12.6

8.8

1.8

0.3

215.3

38.8

4.6

0.2

1.8

–

45.4

2.3

–

–

–

0.0

2.3

31 December 2020

31 December 2019

191.9

23.4

215.3

DD&A

-44.0

–

–

–

–

-44.0

Exploration  

costs

–

–

–

–

-0.0

-0.0

194.8

16.9

211.7

Book value 

1 Jan 2020

194.8

8.0

8.6

–

0.3

211.7

62

 
 
 
 
 
MUSD

Licence

Phase

share

31 Dec 2019

Investments

adjustments

Tethys Oil’s 

Book value 

Other non-cash 

Exploration  

Blocks 3&4

Production/Exploration

30%

Block 49

Exploration

Block 56

Exploration

100%

20%

New ventures

Total

MUSD 

Producing cost pools

Cost 1 Jan 2020

Investments

Change in estimates

Cost 31 Dec 2020

Accumulated depreciation 1 jan 2020

Depletion charge for the year

Accumulated depreciation 31 Dec 2020

Net book value 31 Dec 2020

194.8

8.0

8.6

0.3

211.7

2.1

–

–

–

2.1

54.0

2.3

8.6

0.3

65.2

MUSD 

DD&A

-47.4

–

–

–

-47.4

costs

-7.9

–

–

-0.3

-8.2

Oman Blocks 3&4

Total

Producing cost pools

Oman Blocks 3&4

466.6

38.8

2.3

507.7

-271.7

-44.0

-315.7

191.9

466.6

Cost 1 Jan 2019

38.8

Investments

2.3

Change in estimates

507.7

Write offs

-271.7

Cost 31 Dec 2019

-44.0

Accumulated depreciation 1 jan 2019

-315.7

Depletion charge for the year

191.9

Accumulated depreciation 31 Dec 2019

Net book value 31 Dec 2019

418.4

54.0

2.1

-7.9

466.6

-224.3

-47.4

-271.7

194.8

Book value 

1 Jan 2019

194.0

5.7

–

0.3

200.0

Total

418.4

54.0

2.1

-7.9

466.6

-224.3

-47.4

-271.7

194.8

MUSD

Investments Blocks 3&4

Categories

Drilling

G&G

Facilities

Total

MUSD

Oil & gas properties Blocks 3&4

Categories

Drilling

G&G

Facilities

Total

2020 

19.4

9.2

10.2

38.8

2020 

98.9

29.4

63.6

191.9

Impairment testing
Tethys  Oil  assesses  the  need  for  an  impairment  test  of  its  producing  oil 
and gas properties through the performing of an impairment trigger test. In 
the impairment trigger test the Company uses its best efforts to estimate 
future  production,  operational  costs  and  investments  needs.  In  order  to 
calculate estimated future cash flows various oil price scenarios have been 
used,  including  ERCE’s  year-end  price  forecast  and  the  oil  price  forward 
curve. Following the drop of the oil price and the imposition of production 
limitations  an  impairment  trigger  test  was  performed  per  30  June  2020 
which resulted in a full impairment test. As a result of the test, it was deter-
mined that no impairment of the carrying value of Blocks 3&4’s oil and gas 
properties had occurred.

An impairment trigger test was conducted as per 31 December 2020 it was 
concluded that no impairment test was necessary. 

Exploration costs of MUSD 0.0 (MUSD 8.2) were recorded in 2020.

2019

25.0

10.1

18.9

54.0

2019

100.7

28.3

65.9

194.8

Note 9, Operating expenditures

Note 11, Administrative expenses

Group MUSD

Parent MSEK

Group MUSD

Parent MSEK

2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

Production costs

Well workovers

Total

40.3

3.1

43.4

47.2

4.4

51.6

–

–

–

–

–

–

Personnel costs

Rent

Other office costs

Listing costs

Costs of external relations

Other Costs

Total

Note 10, Remuneration to Company auditor

PwC:

Audit fee

Audit-related fees

Other

Total

Group MUSD

Parent MSEK

2020

2019

2020

2019

-0.1

0.0

-0.1

-0.2

-0.1

0.0

–

-0.1

-1.2

-0.1

-0.6

-1.9

-1.1

-0.3

-1.4

Of the Group total during 2020, MUSD 0.2 (MUSD 0.1) has been in relation 
to PwC Sweden.

-5.1

-0.4

-0.1

-0.1

-0.1

-1.5

-7.3

-4.5

-0.4

-0.3

-0.1

-0.1

-1.6

-7.0

2020

-22.1

-2.5

-0.6

-0.7

-1.1

-21.1

-48.2

2019

-22.6

-2.5

-2.0

-1.3

-1.3

-13.4

-43.1

63

 
 
 
 
 
Note 12, Employees

Average number of full time 

2020

2019

employees per country

Total

Total men

Total

Total men

Parent company

Sweden

Total parent company

Subsidiary companies in Sweden

Subsidiary companies foreign

Oman

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

Total subsidiary companies foreign

Total group

6

6

0

15

1

1

17

23

3

3

0

10

–

1

11

14

6

6

0

15

1

1

17

23

3

3

0

11

0

1

12

15

MUSD

2020

2019

Salaries, other remuneration  
and social costs

Parent company

Sweden

Total parent company

Subsidiary companies in Sweden

Subsidiary companies foreign

Oman

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

Total subsidiary companies foreign

Total group

Salaries, 

other 

remune-

ration

Salaries, 

other  

Social  

remune-

costs

ration

Social  

costs

-1.8

-1.8

–

-2.5

-0.1

-0.6

-3.2

-5.0

-0.6

-0.6

–

–

–

-0.1

-0.1

-0.7

-1.6

-1.6

–

-2.1

-0.2

-0.4

-2.7

-4.3

-0.6

-0.6

–

–

–

-0.0

-0.0

-0.6

MUSD

2020

2019

Salaries and other remuneration  
distributed between The Board  

Board and 

managing 

Board and 

Other 

Managing 

Other 

and other employees

director

employees

director

employees

Parent company

Sweden

Total parent company

Subsidiary companies in Sweden

Subsidiary companies foreign

Oman

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

Total subsidiary companies foreign

-0.7

-0.7

–

–

–

–

–

Total group

-0.7

-1.1

-1.1

–

-2.5

-0.1

-0.6

-3.2

-4.3

–

–

–

–

–

-0.7

–

Robert Anderson

Alexandra Herger

Magnus Nordin

Per Seime

Gavin Graham

Total

-2.1

-0.2

-0.4

-2.7

-3.6

During  2020  one  woman  has  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Directors, 
compared to one in 2019. No women have been members of the executive 
management.  At  the  AGM  of  shareholders  on  13  May  2020  Klas  Brand 
was newly elected and Robert Anderson, Alexandra Herger, Magnus Nordin, 
Per Seime and Geoffrey Turbott were re-elected members of the board. No 
deputy directors were appointed. At the same meeting, Geoffrey Turbott was 
appointed chairman of the board. There have not been any agreements on 
pensions for any of the directors of the board. For the executive manage-
ment, the pension costs follow a defined contribution plan.

Salaries and other  

remuneration to  

Pension 

Share based 

executive management 

Basic 

arrange-

Variable 

long term  

Other 

during 2020, MSEK

salary

ments

Salary

incentive

benefits

Total 

2020

Managing director

3.494

0.436

2.057

1.045

0.029

7.061

Other executive manage-
ment

8.985

0.632

1.833

1.245

0.016 12.711

Total

12.479

1.067

3.890

2.291

0.045 19.772

Salaries and other  

remuneration to  

Pension 

Share based 

executive management 

Basic 

arrange-

Variable 

during 2019, MSEK

salary

ments

Salary

long term 
incentive1

Other 

benefits

Total 

2019

Managing director

3.271

0.659

0.696

1.566

0.025

6.217

Other executive manage-
ment

8.318

0.771

0.679

1.088

0.011 10.868

Total

11.589

1.431

1.376

2.654

0.036 17.085

Total remuneration to executive management increased in 2020 compared 
to 2019 due to a number of factors; increased basic salary for the manag-
ing director, severance pay for members of executive management termi-
nated during the year and the recognition of 2 years of variable salary for 
all executive management. The recognition of 2 years of variable salary is 
the result of a change in practice regarding the timing of variable salary to 
executive  management.  Starting  2020,  variable  salary  is  recognised  the 
same year as it is earned, previously it was recognised the following year. 
Because  of  this  change,  variable  salary  recognised  in  2020  consists  of 
both variable salary for the years 2019 and 2020. For the Managing Direc-
tor  the  variable  salary  for  2019  was  MSEK  1.114  and  for  2020  MSEK 
0.942.  For  Other  executive  management  variable  salary  for  2019  was 
MSEK 0.706 and for 2020 MSEK 1.127. For executive management pen-
sion costs follow a defined contribution plan.

Remuneration to board members AGM 2020 to AGM 2021

Geoffrey Turbott

Robert Anderson

Alexandra Herger

Magnus Nordin

Per Seime

Klas Brand

Total

-0.7

-0.7

-0.9

-0.9

Remuneration to board members AGM 2019 to AGM 2020

Geoffrey Turbott

MSEK

0.735

0.395

0.400

–

0.430

0.420

2.380

MSEK

0.765

0.395

0.400

–

0.430

0.365

2.355

Guidelines for remuneration to senior executives
The guidelines for remuneration to senior executives were approved by the 
Annual General Meeting 2020.

Application of guidelines
These guidelines apply to remuneration to senior executives and to mem-
bers of the Board of Directors if remuneration is paid for work performed 
outside the scope of the ordinary board work (e.g. pursuant to an employ-
ment or consultancy agreement). For the purposes of these guidelines, sen-
ior executives include the Managing Director, the Deputy Managing Director 
(if  applicable)  and  certain  other  executives  who,  from  time  to  time,  are 
members of the Group Executive Management. 

These  guidelines  do  not  apply  to  any  remuneration  resolved  upon  or 
approved by the General Meeting and are only applicable to remuneration 
agreed, and amendments to remuneration already agreed, after the adop-
tion of these guidelines by the Annual General Meeting 2020.

64

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
These guidelines constitute a framework within which remuneration to sen-
ior executives may be decided on by the Board of Directors.

General remuneration principles
In short, the Group’s business strategy is to create shareholder value work-
ing across the whole upstream oil and gas industry lifecycle of exploration, 
appraisal, development and production. A central objective in the Group’s 
business model is to explore for and produce oil and gas in an economi-
cally, socially, and environmentally responsible way. 

Principles for pension benefits
Pension benefits shall comprise a defined contribution scheme with premi-
ums calculated on the full basic salary and be set on an individual basis, 
however,  provided  that  mandatory  provisions  of  applicable  collective  bar-
gaining agreements do not require otherwise.

Pension  benefits  may  not  amount  to  more  than  30  percent  of  the  basic 
salary, and is therefore expected to amount to no more than 25 percent of 
total remuneration.

The Company’s remuneration principles are to ensure responsible and sus-
tainable remuneration decisions that support the Company’s strategy, long-
term interests and sustainable business practices and further enhance the 
Group’s market position as well as increase the shareholder value. To this 
end, salaries and other employment terms shall enable the Group to retain 
and recruit skilled senior executives at a reasonable cost. Remuneration 
shall  be  on  market  terms  and  based  on  the  principles  of  performance, 
competitiveness and fairness. 

Principles for non-financial benefits
Non-financial benefits shall be based on market terms and shall facilitate 
the  duties  of  senior  executives.  Non-financial  benefits  may  include,  inter 
alia, life insurance, medical insurance etc.

Premiums and other costs relating to non-financial benefits may not amount 
to more than five percent of the basic salary, and is therefore expected to 
amount to no more than five percent of the total remuneration.

When  evaluating  whether  these  guidelines  and  the  limitations  set  out 
herein are reasonable, the Board of Directors (including the Remuneration 
Committee) has considered the total income of all employees of the Com-
pany, including the various components of their remuneration as well as the 
increase and growth rate over time.

In order to comply with mandatory rules or established local practice, remu-
neration which is subject to rules outside Sweden may be adjusted to com-
ply  with  such  local  rules,  taking  into  account,  to  the  extent  possible,  the 
overall purpose of these guidelines.

Elements of remuneration
The remuneration covered by these guidelines may consist of basic salary, 
variable cash salary, pension, non-financial benefits and severance pay. In 
addition hereto, the General Meeting may decide on, inter alia, long-term 
incentive programs in which senior executives can participate.

Principles for basic salary
The  basic  salary  shall  be  in  line  with  market  conditions,  be  competitive, 
and shall  take into  account  the scope  and  responsibility  associated with 
the  position,  as  well  as  the  skills,  experience  and  performance  of  each 
senior executive. 

On the assumption of payment of full variable cash salary, pension benefits 
and other benefits, the basic salary is expected to amount to no more than 
45  percent  of  the  total  remuneration.  If  there  is  no  variable  cash  salary, 
pension benefits or other benefits, the basic salary will constitute the entire 
remuneration.

Principles for variable cash salary
Variable cash salary, i.e. cash bonuses, shall be based on a set of prede-
termined and measurable performance criteria that reflect the key drivers 
for  pursuing  the  Company’s  strategy,  long-term  interests  and  sustainable 
business practices. Such performance criteria include (but are not limited 
to)  HSE,  production,  reserves  replacement,  business  development  and 
financial performance as well as individual performance.

To  which  extent  the  criteria  for  awarding  variable  cash  salary  have  been 
satisfied shall be determined annually in connection with the publication of 
the year-end report for the respective financial year based on an evaluation 
of  the  senior  executive’s  achievement  of  the  performance  indicators  as 
described in the agreed individual performance targets.

Payment of variable cash salary shall be conditional upon the senior execu-
tive  remaining  employed  for  the  duration  of  the  qualification  period.  The 
Board of Directors is entitled to adjust the incentive programme during the 
term of the programme in the case of, for example, extraordinary increases 
or decreases in the Group’s earnings.

Variable  cash  remuneration  shall  qualify  for  pension  benefits  only  to  the 
extent it is required pursuant to mandatory provisions of applicable collec-
tive bargaining agreements.

The annual variable cash salary may not amount to more than 12 months’ 
basic salary, and is therefore expected to amount to no more than 50 per-
cent of the total remuneration.

Remuneration during notice period and severance pay
The notice period for termination of the Managing Director shall not exceed 
twelve months and the notice period for termination of other senior execu-
tives shall not exceed nine months.

A  mutual  termination  period  of  twelve  months  applies  between  the  Com-
pany  and  the  Managing  Director  and  of  up  to  nine  months  between  the 
Company and other senior executives.

Severance pay to the Managing Director and other senior executives shall 
not exceed twelve months’ basic salary, provided that the employment is 
terminated by the Company. In the event the senior executive terminates 
his or her employment, no severance shall be payable.

Principles for certain remuneration to members of the Board of Directors
To the extent members of the Board of Directors perform work for the Com-
pany  outside  the  scope  of  the  ordinary  board  work,  consultancy  fees  on 
market terms may be paid in addition to any board fees resolved upon by 
the General Meeting. The Nomination Committee is tasked with proposing 
a frame, if any, for such remuneration, to be approved by the Annual General 
Meeting.

Long-term incentive programs
Any remuneration resolved upon by the General Meeting is not covered by 
these  guidelines.  Accordingly,  these  guidelines  do  not  apply  to  the  Com-
pany’s long-term incentive programs resolved upon by the General Meeting. 

The  Company’s  existing  long-term  incentive  programs  are  directed  to  cer-
tain  key  employees  of  the  Group  and  designed  to  create  conditions  for 
retaining  and  recruiting  competent  and  committed  personnel  to  the 
Group.  More  information  on  the  Company’s  existing  and  proposed  incen-
tive  programs  from  time  to  time  is  available  on  the  Company’s  website, 
www.tethysoil.com.

The role of the Remuneration Committee 
The Board of Directors has established a Remuneration Committee to deal 
with  matters  of  executive  compensation  and  wider  Group  remuneration. 
Specifically, it is tasked to: 

•  Recommend and review remuneration guidelines for the Managing Direc-
tor, the executive management and other employees in the Group to the 
Board of Directors;

•  Recommend Company Performance Targets for each year to the Board of 

Directors;

•  Recommend  Managing  Director  Performance  Targets  for  each  year  to 
the Board of Directors, and inform the Board of Directors of the Perfor-
mance Targets agreed between the Managing Director and the executive 
management;

•  Recommend remuneration (salary and benefits) for the Managing Direc-
tor to the Board of Directors and inform the Board of  Directors of the 
remuneration (salaries and benefits) for the executive management;
•  Recommend allocation of bonus and warrants to the Managing Director 
to the Board of Directors and inform the Board of Directors of allocation 
of bonus and warrants to the executive management; and

•  Recommend incentive programme guidance relating to employees to the 

Board of Directors.

65

Preparation and review of the compliance of these guidelines
These  guidelines  have  been  prepared  by  the  Remuneration  Committee 
of  the  Board  of  Directors  and  the  Board  of  Directors.  The  Remuneration 
Committee is responsible for preparation of updated proposals in respect 
of  guidelines  for  remuneration  to  the  senior  executives.  A  proposal  for 
amended guidelines is to be prepared by the Board of Directors when the 
need for material amendments arises, but at least every four years.

Parent (MSEK)

Result before tax

Tax at applicable tax rate 21.4% (2019: 21.4%)

Tax on non-deductible expenses

Reversal of tax on non-taxable income

The guidelines may also be amended by way of a resolution by other Gen-
eral Meetings than Annual General Meetings.

Within the scope and on the basis of these guidelines, the Board of Direc-
tors shall, based on the Remuneration Committee’s preparation and recom-
mendations,  annually  decide  on  the  specific  revised  remuneration  terms 
for  each  senior  executive  and  make  such  other  decisions  in  respect  of 
remuneration for senior executives that may be required.

The members of the Remuneration Committee are independent in relation 
to the Company and the senior executives. The Managing Director and the 
other senior executives do not participate in the Board of Directors’ han-
dling of, or resolutions regarding, remuneration-related matters if they are 
affected by such matters.

Principles for derogations from these guidelines
The  Board  of  Directors  may  temporarily  resolve  to  derogate  from  these 
guidelines, in whole or in part, if in a specific case there is special cause 
for such derogation and a derogation is necessary to serve the Company’s 
long-term interests, including its sustainability, or to ensure the Company’s 
financial viability.

2020

22.7

-4.9

-0.1

12.3

-7.3

0.0

2019

277.6

-59.4

-0.2

60.6

-1.0

0.0

2019

0.0

–

–

0.1

0.1

Utilized (+) / Built up (–) tax loss carry forwards previously not 

recorded as deferred tax assets

Tax expense

Note 16, Trade and other receivables

Group MUSD

Parent MSEK

Trade and other receivables

2020

2019

VAT

Trade receivables oil sale

Underlift position

Other

Total

0.2

8.9

–

–

0.0

2.5

9.5

–

9.1

12.0

2020

2.0

–

–

0.1

2.1

Note 17, Cash and cash equivalent 
MUSD 5.0 of the cash is restricted in conjunction with a bank guarantee 
issued to Medco Arabia Ltd related to the pending farm-in transaction of 45 
percent on Block 56 in Oman.

Note 13, Financial income and similar items

Group MUSD

Parent MSEK

2020

2019

2020

Interest income

Currency exchange gains, net

Dividend from group companies

Total

0.1

7.7

–

7.8

0.8

0.9

–

1.7

18.8

70.7

57.3

146.8

2019

18.3

8.7

276.8

303.8

Note 18, Shareholders’ equity
As  at  31  December  2020,  the  number  of  issued  shares  in  Tethys  Oil 
amounted to 33,056,608, with a quota value of SEK 0.18 (SEK 0.17). All 
shares  represent  one  vote  each.  During  2020,  the  number  of  shares  in 
issue decreased by 3,238,352 shares, from 36,294,960 to 33,056,608. 
Tethys Oil has a warrant-based incentive programme for Employees. When 
the share price is above the exercise price of the warrants a potential dilu-
tion effect arises. During the most part of 2020 the share price was below 
the  exercise  price  of  the  three  tranches  of  the  warrant  programme,  thus 
the  weighted  average  number  of  shares  outstanding  after  dilution  was 
33,328,099. For for further information please see note 22. 

Note 14, Financial expenses and similar items

Interest expenses

Currency exchange loss

Other financial expenses

Total

Group MUSD

Parent MSEK

2020

2019

2020

2019

-0.0

-9.7

-0.6

-10.3

-0.0

–

-0.5

-0.5

–

-88.6

-0.1

-88.7

-0.2

–

0.0

-0.2

Note 15, Tax
The Group's income tax charge amount to MUSD 0.0 (MUSD 0.0). Tethys 
Oil's oil and gas operations in Oman are governed by a separate Explora-
tion  and  Production  Sharing  Agreement  (“EPSA”)  for  each  licence.  Under 
the terms of each EPSA, Tethys Oil is subject to Omani income taxes and 
royalties, which are paid in full, on behalf of Tethys Oil from the government 
share of oil. The effect of these taxes is netted against revenue and other 
income in the income statement. Tethys Oil has not recorded a deferred tax 
asset in relation to the tax losses carried forward since there is uncertainty 
as to if the tax losses may be utilised. The tax losses are in another juris-
diction than where main profits are generated. Tax losses carried forward 
amounted to MSEK 273.4 (MSEK 239.1). There are no time limits for the 
utilization of tax losses.

The tax losses on the parent company's result before tax differs from the 
theoretical amount that would arise using the Swedish tax rate as follows:

As at 31 December 2020, Tethys Oil held 315,552 of its own shares which 
were  purchased  since  the  commencement  of  the  share  repurchase  pro-
gramme in the fourth quarter 2020. The main purpose of the share repur-
chase programme is to give the company flexibility regarding its equity and 
thereby optimize the capital structure of the company. Repurchased shares 
may also be used as payment for, or financing of, acquisitions of compa-
nies or businesses or in connection with handling of incentive programs. A 
total 1,599,741 shares were purchased by the company in 2020 of which 
1,284,189 were purchased before the 2020 AGM and subsequently can-
celled.  The  repurchased  shares  are  still  included  in  the  total  number  of 
shares, but are not included in the average number of shares outstanding. 
The  weighted  average  number  of  shares  outstanding  during  2020  before 
dilution is 33,321,353 and after dilution 33,328,099. 

After 31 December 2020 and up to the date of publication for this report, 
Tethys Oil has acquired a further 120,088 shares.

Earnings per share
Earnings per share before dilution is calculated by dividing profit for the year 
attributable to ordinary shareholders of the parent company by the weighted 
average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year.

Earnings  per  share  after  dilution  is  calculated  by  dividing  the  profit  for 
the  year  attributable  to  ordinary  shareholders  of  the  parent  company  by 
weighted  average  number  of  ordinary  shares  outstanding  during  the  year 
while also including the dilution effect of warrants where the subscription 
price is below the share price.

66

 
 
 
 
Appropriation of profit
The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 2.00 per share (AGM 
2019: SEK 2.00). Proposed record date is 21 May 2021.

The Board of Directors proposes an extraordinary distribution of SEK 2.00 
per share by way of a mandatory share redemption programme following 
the  AGM  2021  (AGM  2020:  SEK  3.00).  Further  details  to  follow  in  the 
proposal to the 2021 AGM.

Note 19, Leasing

31 Dec 2019 

1 Jan 2020 

Jan–Dec 2020

31 Dec 2020

Lease  

Lease  

Right 

liabilities, 

Right 

liabilities, 

Adjustments 

Payment 

MUSD 

of use 

assets

interest  

bearing

Fixed assets (incl. In other fixed assets)

0.5

Short term leasing debt (incl. Accounts 

payable and other current liabilities)

Long term leasing debt (incl. In other 

non-current liabilities)

Interest costs

Total

–

–

–

0.5

–

–

-0.5

–

-0.5

of use 

assets

0.5

–

–

–

0.5

interest  

of Right of 

of leasing 

Depre-

Interest  

bearing

use assets

debt

ciation

costs

–

-0.2

-0.3

–

-0.5

0.1

-0.1

–

–

0.0

–

-0.3

0.3

–

–

–

–

–

0.3

-0.3

–

–

–

0.0

0.0

Lease  

Right 

liabilities, 

interest  

bearing

of use 

assets

0.3

–

–

–

0.3

0.0

-0.3

0.0

-0.3

Note 20,  Accounts payable and other current liabilities

Accounts payable and other current liabilities

31 December 2020

31 December 2019

31 December 2020

31 December 2019

Group MUSD

Parent MSEK

Accounts payable

Operator balance. Blocks 3&4 Oman

Overlift position

Other current liabilities

Total

Note 21, Shares in subsidiaries

Company

Tethys Oil Invest AB

Tethys Oil Exploration AB

Tethys Oil France AB

Reg. Number

556658-1442

556658-1483

556658-1491

Sweden

Sweden

Sweden

Tethys Oil Middle East North Africa B.V.

27306813

Netherlands

95212

101981

115710

118203

119982

Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Tethys Oil Oman Ltd

Tethys Oil Block 3&4 Ltd

Tethys Oil Montasar Ltd

Tethys Oil Oman Onshore Ltd

Tethys Oil Oman Qatbeet Ltd

Shares in subsidiaries, MSEK

1 January

Acquisitions/Relinquishments

31 December

0.6

5.3

0.1

3.8

9.8

0.4

10.8

–

1.7

12.9

1.9

–

–

7.9

9.8

1.5

–

–

3.9

5.4

Reg. office

(thousands)

Percentage

per share

Number of shares 

Nominal value  

1.0

1.0

1.0

18.0

0.1

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Parent

2020

1.0

0.0

1.0

SEK 100

SEK 100

SEK 100

EUR 1

GBP 1

USD 1

USD 1

USD 1

USD 1

Parent 

2019

1.0

0.0

1.0

Tethys Oil Services UK Ltd (TOSUL) is exempt from the requirements of the UK Companies Act 2006 relating to the audit of its individual accounts for the 
fiscal year 2020 by virtue of s479A of the Act. Tethys Oil AB, as the ultimate parent company, guarantees any and all outstanding liabilities of TOSUL existing 
at 31 December 2020 until they are discharged in full.

Note 22, Incentive programme
Tethys Oil has an incentive programme as part of the remuneration package 
to  employees.  The  allocation  is  not  guaranteed  and  the  Board  of  Direc-
tors  of  the  Company  shall  resolve  on  and  implement  the  allocation.  The 
warrants have no vesting period or other restrictions and have been trans-
ferred  free  of  charge  to  the  participants  and  the  Group  accounts  for  any 
income  tax  for  the  participants  to  the  extent  such  tax  is  attributable  to 
the programme. The market value of the warrants has been calculated in 
accordance with the Black & Scholes formula by an independent valuation 
institution. The subscription price is based on the volume-weighted average 

of the purchase price for the Company’s share on Nasdaq Stockholm during 
approximately a two-week period prior to the date of allocation. 

Warrants were issued 2020 and 2019 following a decision by the respec-
tive  AGM.  The  number  of  issued  warrants  during  2020  was  350,000 
(350,000) and the number of warrants allocated during 2020 was 349,000 
(350,000).  Issued  but  not  allocated  warrants  are  held  by  the  Company. 
Warrants  expired  during  the  year  were  350,000.  During  2020  the  2017 
incentive programme expired without exercise.

67

Total

Warrant incentive  
programme

Warrant incentive  

Subscription  

Shares per 

Number of warrants

programme

Exercise period

price, SEK

warrant

1Jan 2020

Issued 2020

Exercised 2020

Expired 2020

31Dec 2020

2017 incentive programme

30 May – 2 Oct 2020

2018 incentive programme

1 Jun – 2 Oct 2021

2019 incentive programme

1 Jun – 7 Oct 2022

2020 incentive programme

13 Jun – 6 Oct 2023

69.30

75.40

72.80

54.00

1.24

1.18

1.08

1.00

350,000

350,000

350,000

–

1,050,000

–

–

–

350,000

350,000

–

–

–

–

–

350,000

–

–

–

–

350,000

350,000

350,000

350,000

1,050,000

Subscription  

Shares per 

Number of warrants

Exercise period

price, SEK

warrant

1 Jan 2019

Issued 2019

Exercised 2019

Expired 2019

31 Dec 2019

2016 incentive programme

28 May – 4 Oct. 2019

2017 incentive programme

30 May – 2 Oct. 2020

2018 incentive programme

1 Jun – 2 Oct. 2021

2019 incentive programme

1 Jun – 2 Oct. 2022

55.00

75.10

81.70

78.50

1.19

1.14

1.09

1.00

Total

350,000

350,000

350,000

0

1,050,000

0

0

0

350,000

350,000

335,000

15,000

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

350,000

350,000

350,000

335,000

15,000

1,050,000

Group MUSD

Parent MSEK

Warrant incentive programme

2020

2019

2020

2019

Incentive programme cost

Total

0.5

0.5

0.7

0.7

3.3

3.3

3.9

3.9

As  the  share  price  was  below  the  subscription  price  for  all  the  active 
tranches of the incentive programme for most of 2020, there was limited 
dilution  effects  of  the  warrants  included  in  the  weighted  average  number 
of shares after dilution, which amounted to 33,328,099 during 2020. The 
cost is calculated in accordance with the Black & Scholes formula where 
the main inputs are the factors in the above table, expected volatility, share 
price at valuation and an equity discount rate. The cost for the incentive 
programme is included as part of administrative expenses and includes tax 
and social charges where applicable.

Note 23, Pledged assets 
As at 31 December 2020, pledged assets amounted to MSEK 0.5 related 
to a pledge in relation to office rental in the parent company (MSEK 0.5).

Note 24, Contingent liabilities
There are no outstanding contingent liabilities as at 31 December 2020, 
nor for the comparative period.

Note 25, Related party transactions 
In  the  Tethys  Oil  Group,  Tethys  Oil  AB  (publ)  with  organizational  number 
556615-8266 is the parent company. Material subsidiaries include Tethys 
Oil Block 3&4 Limited, Tethys Oil Montasar Limited, Tethys Oil Oman Qat-
beet Limited and Tethys Oil Oman Onshore Limited.

During the year, the Company entered into the following significant transac-
tions with related parties.

Transactions with group companies, MSEK

Interest income

Other income

Dividend income

Total

Balance with related parties, MSEK

Receivable from group companies

Total

Balance with related parties, MSEK

Payable to group companies

Total

2020

18.8

12.8

57.3

88.9

2020

338.0

338.0

2020

128.3

128.3

2019

17.7

10.7 

276.7

305.1

2019

446.2

446.2

2019

8.6

8.6

The  receivables  or  payables  from  related  parties  arise  from  the  net  of 
purchased services and upstreamed or downstreamed funds between par-
ent and subsidiaries. The interest rates on receivables are in the range of 
LIBOR +4–6% per annum. Receivables are long term in duration and unse-
cured in nature. Payables are short term in duration, unsecured in nature 
and bear no interest.

Note, 26 Subsequent events
On the 9 February 2021, HM the Sultan of Oman issued Royal Decree No. 
16/2021 authorising the assignment of 45 percent of the rights and obliga-
tions of Medco Arabia Ltd in the Exploration and Production Sharing Agree-
ment  for  Block  56  to  Tethys  Oil  AB's  wholly  owned  subsidiary  Tethys  Oil 
Oman Onshore Limited. The Royal Decree constitutes the final government 
approval of the transaction announced on 28 October 2020. Following the 
issuance of the Royal Decree, Tethys Oil paid MUSD 5 cash consideration 
and transaction was finalised.

On  1  March  2021,  Tethys  Oil  announced  that  the  Thameen-1  exploration 
well  drilled  on  Block  49,  onshore  Sultanate  of  Oman  had  reached  total 
depth and that the well had encountered hydrocarbon shows in the primary 
target, the Hasirah Sandstone, and that a well testing programme was to 
be  initiated.  On  23  March  2021,  the  completion  of  the  well  testing  pro-
gramme was announced. No flows were recorded at surface, but down hole 
fluid samples were collected. Logs indicate a gross hydrocarbon column of 
close to forty metres. Sidewall cores, fluid samples and pressure data will 
be further analysed together with an extensive log analysis. The well will 
be suspended to allow re-entry at a later date after further evaluation has 
been carried out.

On  9  March  2021,  HM  the  Sultan  of  Oman  issued  Royal  Decree  No. 
25/2021 authorising the assignment of 50% of the rights and Obligations 
of  Tethys  Oil  Montasar  Limited  in  the  Exploration  and  Production  Sharing 
Agreement  for  Block  49  to  a  wholly-owned  subsidiary  of  EOG  Resources 
Inc.  (“EOG”)  The  Royal  Decree  constitutes  the  final  government  approval 
of the transaction announced on 10 November 2020. Following the issu-
ance of the Royal Decree, EOG paid the initial consideration of historic cost 
incurred until the date of signing of the agreement. The consideration will 
be recorded in the first quarter 2021 accounts and is not expected to have 
any effect on the group income statement.

68

 
Assurance

The Board of Directors and the managing director declare that the 
consolidated  financial  statements  have  been  prepared  in  accord-
ance  with  IFRS  as  adopted  by  the  EU  and  give  a  true  and  fair 
view  of  the  Group’s  financial  position  and  results  of  operations. 
The  financial  statements  of  the  parent  company  have  been  pre-
pared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles 
in Sweden and give a true and fair view of the parent company’s 

financial position and results of operations. The statutory Admin-
istration Report of the Group and the parent company provides 
a  fair  review  of  the  development  of  the  Group’s  and  the  parent 
company’s operations, financial position and results of operations 
and  describes  material  risks  and  uncertainties  facing  the  parent 
company and the companies included in the Group.

Stockholm, 9 April 2021

Geoffrey Turbott 
Chairman of the board

Rob Anderson 
Director

Alexandra Herger 
Director

Klas Brand 
Director

Magnus Nordin 
Managing Director

Per Seime 
Director

Auditor’s endorsement

Our audit report was submitted on 9 April 2021.
PricewaterhouseCoopers AB

Ulrika Ramsvik 
Authorized Public Accountant
Lead Partner

Sophie Damborg 
Authorized Public Accountant

69

 
Auditor’s report

Auditor’s report

To the general meeting of the shareholders of Tethys Oil AB (publ), corporate identity number 556615-8266

Report on the annual accounts and consolidated accounts

Opinions
We have audited the annual accounts and consolidated accounts of 
Tethys Oil AB (publ) for the year 2020. 

The annual accounts and consolidated accounts of the company 
are included on pages 39–69 in this document.

In our opinion, the annual accounts have been prepared in accord-
ance with the Annual Accounts Act and present fairly, in all mate-
rial  respects,  the  financial  position  of  parent  company  and  the 
group as of 31 December 2020 and its financial performance and 
cash flow for the year then ended in accordance with the Annual 
Accounts Act. 

The consolidated accounts have been prepared in accordance with 
the Annual Accounts Act and present fairly, in all material respects, 
the financial position of the group as of 31 December 2020 and 
their financial performance and cash flow for the year then ended 
in  accordance  with  International  Financial  Reporting  Standards 
(IFRS), as adopted by the EU, and the Annual Accounts Act. The 
statutory administration report is consistent with the other parts 
of the annual accounts and consolidated accounts.

We therefore recommend that the general meeting of sharehold-
ers adopts the income statement and balance sheet for the parent 
company and the group.

Our opinions in this report on the annual accounts and consoli-
dated accounts are consistent with the content of the additional 
report  that  has  been  submitted  to  the  parent  company’s  audit 
committee in accordance with the Audit Regulation (537/2014) 
Article 11.

Basis for Opinions
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Stand-
ards on Auditing (ISA) and generally accepted auditing standards 
in Sweden. Our responsibilities under those standards are further 
described  in  the  Auditor’s  Responsibilities  section.  We  are  inde-
pendent of the parent company and the group in accordance with 
professional  ethics  for  accountants  in  Sweden  and  have  other-
wise fulfilled our ethical responsibilities in accordance with these 
requirements. This includes that, based on the best of our knowl-
edge  and  belief,  no  prohibited  services  referred  to  in  the  Audit 
Regulation  (537/2014)  Article  5.1  have  been  provided  to  the 
audited company or, where applicable, its parent company or its 
controlled companies within the EU.

Our audit approach
Audit scope
Tethys Oil AB (publ) is a Swedish Oil and Gas company with its 
primary  operations  located  in  Oman.  The  operations  in  Oman 
represented  100%  of  the  group’s  revenue  for  the  financial  year 
2020 and 76% of the group’s assets as per 31 December 2020. We 
designed  our  audit  by  determining  materiality  and  assessing  the 
risks of material misstatement in the consolidated financial state-
ments.  In  particular,  we  considered  where  the  management  and 
the Managing Director made subjective judgements; for example, 
in respect of significant accounting estimates that involved mak-
ing assumptions and considering future events that are inherently 
uncertain.  As  in  all  of  our  audits,  we  also  addressed  the  risk  of 
management override of internal controls, including among other 
matters consideration of whether there was evidence of bias that 
represented a risk of material misstatement due to fraud.

We tailored the scope of our audit in order to perform sufficient 
work to enable us to provide an opinion on the consolidated finan-
cial statements as a whole, taking into account the structure of the 
Group, the accounting processes and controls, and the industry in 
which the Group operates.

Our planning of the audit included an assessment of the level of 
audit  work  to  be  performed  at  the  group’s  headquarters  and  at 
local offices. Following the group’s organisation certain processes 
for accounting and financial reporting are performed outside the 
group’s headquarter which means that we as a group audit team 
performed our audit work at the group’s headquarters but we also 
obtained  reporting  from  specified  procedures  performed  by  our 
audit team in Oman. 

We have reported the results from our procedures to management 
and the Audit Committee after the review of the Report for the six 
months period ended 30 June, 2020 and after the year-end audit 
of the financial year 2020.

Materiality
The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of mate-
riality. An audit is designed to obtain reasonable assurance whether 
the financial statements are free from material misstatement. Mis-
statements  may  arise  due  to  fraud  or  error.  They  are  considered 
material if individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be 
expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the 
basis of the consolidated financial statements.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient 
and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinions.

Based  on  our  professional  judgement,  we  determined  certain 
quantitative thresholds for materiality, including the overall group 
materiality  for  the  consolidated  financial  statements  as  a  whole. 

70

These, together with qualitative considerations, helped us to deter-
mine the scope of our audit and the nature, timing and extent of 
our audit procedures and to evaluate the effect of misstatements, 
both individually and in aggregate on the financial statements as 
a whole.

Key audit matters
Key audit matters of the audit are those matters that, in our pro-
fessional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the 
annual accounts and consolidated accounts of the current period. 
These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of, and 
in  forming  our  opinion  thereon,  the  annual  accounts  and  con-
solidated accounts as a whole, but we do not provide a separate 
opinion on these matters.

Key audit matter
Recoverability of the carrying value of oil and gas 
properties
The  carrying  value  of  oil  and  gas  properties  amounted  to 
MUSD 215.3 as per  31 December 2020 and the major  part 
represented by the producing assets in Blocks 3&4 in Oman. 
The  oil  and  gas  properties  relating  to  Blocks  3&4  in  Oman 
amounted to MUSD 191.9 by 31 December 2020.

During  the  year  management  follows  a  process  to  identify 
potential indicators of impairment and to the extent that indi-
cators are identified impairment tests are prepared.

The carrying value of oil and gas properties is supported by the 
higher of either value in use calculations or fair value less cost 
of disposal (recoverable amount). 

The assessment to identify potential impairment indicators and 
to perform impairment tests requires management to exercise 
significant judgement where there is a risk that the valuation of 
oil and gas properties and any potential impairment charge or 
reversal of impairment may be incorrect.

Management’s test requires consideration of a number of fac-
tors, including but not limited to, the Group’s intention to pro-
ceed with a future work programme, the probability of success 
of future drilling, the size of proved, probable reserves as well 
as prospective resources, short and long term oil prices, future 
costs as well as the discount and inflation rates. 

Following  the  analysis  of  potential  impairment  indicators 
for Blocks 3&4 in it was concluded that no impairment was 
recorded.

Refer to pages 42–43 in the Directors’ report, page 56 in the 
Accounting  Policies  and  note  2  and  8  in  the  financial  state-
ments for more information.

How our audit addressed the Key audit matter
We have audited management’s assessment for determining the 
impairment indicators and concluded that there are no impair-
ment indicators identified.

The  assumptions  that  underpin  management’s  assessment  are 
inherently judgmental. Our audit work therefore assessed the 
reasonableness of management’s key judgements of the recov-
erable amount of Blocks 3&4. Specifically our work included, 
but was not limited to, the following procedures:

•  comparison  of  management’s  short-term  oil  price  assump-

tions against external oil price forward curves;

•  comparison  of  long-term  oil  price  assumptions  against 
views  published  by  brokers,  economists,  consultancies  and 
respected  industry  bodies,  which  provided  a  range  of  rel-
evant third-party data points;

•  reconciliation  of  hydrocarbon  production  profiles  to  the 
combination of proved and probable reserves and contingent 
resources from reserve reports from ERC Equipoise Limited;
•  verification of estimated future costs by agreement to budg-

ets and where applicable, third party data; 

•  benchmarking of inflation and discount rates applied; 
•  testing of the mathematical accuracy of the model 

We  have  obtained  the  estimation  of  proven  and  probable 
reserves and contingent resources certified by the group’s exter-
nal reserves auditor. Our work included but was not limited to:

•  determining that the group’s process for collecting relevant 

reports were sufficiently robust; 

•  assessing  competence  and  objectivity  of  reserves  audi-
tor  ERC  Equipoise  Limited,  to  satisfy  ourselves  they  were 
appropriately qualified to carry out the volumes estimation;
•  validation  of  that  the  updated  reserves  and  resources  esti-
mates  were  included  appropriately  in  management’s  con-
sideration  of  impairment  and  in  accounting  for  depletion 
charges.

71

Other Information than the annual accounts and 
consolidated accounts
This  document  also  contains  other  information  than  the  annual 
accounts and consolidated accounts and is found on pages 1–20 
and  29–38.  Other  information  those  not  include  the  Financial 
statements, consolidated accounts and our audit report related to 
the  Financial  statements.  The  Board  of  Directors  and  the  Man-
aging  Director  are  responsible  for  this  other  information.  The 
information  in  the  “Remuneration  report  2020”,  which  will  be 
published on Tethys Oils webpage at the same time as this report 
is also considered other information.

Our  opinion  on  the  annual  accounts  and  consolidated  accounts 
does not cover this other information and we do not express any 
form of assurance conclusion regarding this other information.

In connection with our audit of the annual accounts and consoli-
dated accounts, our responsibility is to read the information iden-
tified  above  and  consider  whether  the  information  is  materially 
inconsistent with the annual accounts and consolidated accounts. 
In this procedure we also take into account our knowledge oth-
erwise obtained in the audit and assess whether the information 
otherwise appears to be materially misstated.

If we, based on the work performed concerning this information, 
conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other infor-
mation, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to 
report in this regard.

Responsibilities of the Board of Director’s and the 
Managing Director
The Board of Directors and the Managing Director are responsi-
ble  for  the  preparation  of  the  annual  accounts  and  consolidated 
accounts  and  that  they  give  a  fair  presentation  in  accordance 
with the Annual Accounts Act and, concerning the consolidated 
accounts,  in  accordance  with  IFRS  as  adopted  by  the  EU.  The 
Board of Directors and the Managing Director are also responsible 

for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable 
the preparation of annual accounts and consolidated accounts that 
are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the annual accounts and consolidated accounts, The 
Board of Directors and the Managing Director are responsible for 
the assessment of the company’s and the group’s ability to continue 
as a going concern. They disclose, as applicable, matters related to 
going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting. 
The going concern basis of accounting is however not applied if 
the Board of Directors and the Managing Director intend to liqui-
date the company, to cease operations, or has no realistic alterna-
tive but to do so.

The  Audit  Committee  shall,  without  prejudice  to  the  Board  of 
Director’s responsibilities and tasks in general, among other things 
oversee the company’s financial reporting process.

Auditor’s responsibility
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether 
the annual accounts and consolidated accounts as a whole are free 
from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to 
issue  an  auditor’s  report  that  includes  our  opinions.  Reasonable 
assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an 
audit conducted in accordance with ISAs and generally accepted 
auditing  standards  in  Sweden  will  always  detect  a  material  mis-
statement  when  it  exists.  Misstatements  can  arise  from  fraud  or 
error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggre-
gate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic 
decisions of users taken on the basis of these annual accounts and 
consolidated accounts.

A  further  description  of  our  responsibility  for  the  audit  of  the 
annual  accounts  and  consolidated  accounts  is  available  on  Revi-
sorsinspektionen’s website: www.revisorsinspektionen.se/revisorns-
ansvar. This description is part of the auditor’s report.

Report on other legal and regulatory requirements

Opinions
In addition to our audit of the annual accounts and consolidated 
accounts, we have also audited the administration of the Board of 
Director’s  and  the  Managing  Director  of Tethys  Oil  AB  for  the 
year 2020 and the proposed appropriations of the company’s profit 
or loss.

We  recommend  to  the  general  meeting  of  shareholders  that  the 
profit be appropriated in accordance with the proposal in the stat-
utory administration report and that the members of the Board of 
Director’s and the Managing Director be discharged from liability 
for the financial year.

Basis for Opinions
We  conducted  the  audit  in  accordance  with  generally  accepted 
auditing  standards  in  Sweden.  Our  responsibilities  under  those 
standards  are  further  described  in  the  Auditor’s  Responsibilities 
section. We are independent of the parent company and the group 
in accordance with professional ethics for accountants in Sweden 
and have otherwise fulfilled our ethical responsibilities in accord-
ance with these requirements.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient 
and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinions.

72

Responsibilities of the Board of Director’s and the 
Managing Director
The Board of Directors is responsible for the proposal for appro-
priations  of  the  company’s  profit  or  loss.  At  the  proposal  of  a 
dividend, this includes an assessment of whether the dividend is 
justifiable considering the requirements which the company’s and 
the group’s type of operations, size and risks place on the size of 
the parent company’s and the group’ equity, consolidation require-
ments, liquidity and position in general.

The Board of Directors is responsible for the company’s organiza-
tion and the administration of the company’s affairs. This includes 
among other things continuous assessment of the company’s and 
the  group’s  financial  situation  and  ensuring  that  the  company´s 
organization is designed so that the accounting, management of 
assets and the company’s financial affairs otherwise are controlled 
in  a  reassuring  manner.  The  Managing  Director  shall  manage 
the  ongoing  administration  according  to  the  Board  of  Direc-
tors’  guidelines  and  instructions  and  among  other  matters  take 
measures that are necessary to fulfill the company’s accounting in 
accordance  with  law  and  handle  the  management  of  assets  in  a 
reassuring manner.

Auditor’s responsibility
Our  objective  concerning  the  audit  of  the  administration,  and 
thereby  our  opinion  about  discharge  from  liability,  is  to  obtain 
audit  evidence  to  assess  with  a  reasonable  degree  of  assurance 
whether any member of the Board of Directors or the Managing 
Director in any material respect:

•  has undertaken any action or been guilty of any omission which 

can give rise to liability to the company, or

•  in any other way has acted in contravention of the Companies 
Act, the Annual Accounts Act or the Articles of Association.

Our objective concerning the audit of the proposed appropriations 
of  the  company’s  profit  or  loss,  and  thereby  our  opinion  about 
this, is to assess with reasonable degree of assurance whether the 
proposal is in accordance with the Companies Act.

Reasonable  assurance  is  a  high  level  of  assurance,  but  is  not  a 
guarantee  that  an  audit  conducted  in  accordance  with  generally 
accepted auditing standards in Sweden will always detect actions 
or omissions that can give rise to liability to the company, or that 
the proposed appropriations of the company’s profit or loss are not 
in accordance with the Companies Act.

A  further  description  of  our  responsibility  for  the  audit  of  the 
administration  is  available  on  Revisorsinspektionen’s  website: 
www.revisorsinspektionen.se/revisornsansvar.  This  description  is 
part of the auditor’s report.

PricewaterhouseCoopers  AB,  405  32  Göteborg,  was  appointed 
auditor of Tethys Oil AB by the general meeting of the sharehold-
ers on the 13 May 2020 and has been the company’s auditor since 
the 2001. The company has been listed at NasdaqOMX since the 
2 May 2013. 

Gothenburg, 9 April 2021

PricewaterhouseCoopers AB

Ulrika Ramsvik
Authorized Public Accountant
Lead Partner

Sophie Damborg
Authorized Public Accountant

Financial information

The company plans to publish the following financial reports:
Report for first quarter 2021 (January – March 2021) on 11 May 2021
Report for second quarter 2021 (January – June 2021) on 10 August 2021
Report for third quarter 2021 (January – September 2021) on 9 November 2021
Report for fourth quarter/year-end report 2021 (January – December 2021) on 8 February 2022

73

Address

Corporate Head Office

Tethys Oil AB (publ)
Hovslagargatan 5B
SE-111 48  Stockholm 
Sweden

Telephone: +46 8 505 947 00 
Fax: +46 8 505 947 99
E-mail: info@tethysoil.com

www.tethysoil.com

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