Circle Gas Reports $67 Million in Carbon Credits Awaiting Delivery

Circle Gas, the United Kingdom-based parent company of Kenyan pay-as-you-cook LPG provider M-Gas, reported $67 million in contracted carbon credits awaiting delivery at the end of 2025.

The company’s financial statements also showed that it had received $57 million in cash prepayments against carbon-credit contracts. The figures highlight the importance of carbon-credit income to the clean-cooking business while some of the credits remain subject to delivery and regulatory uncertainty.

Losses and funding pressure

Despite recording revenue of $40.8 million in 2025, up from $36.1 million in the comparison period, Circle Gas remained loss-making. Its loss after tax was $39.3 million.

The company held $1.1 million in cash at the end of the year, while its net liabilities increased to $156.7 million from $116.5 million previously.

Circle Gas said it required approximately $28 million in additional funding to support its 2026 growth plans. Its financial statements said the necessary third-party funding for the 2026 base case had not been fully secured when the accounts were approved, and that there was no certainty the money would become available.

The company has said that without additional funding it expects to limit investment and remain stagnant. It also said authorised carbon credits can command substantially higher prices than credits sold in advance, although it did not disclose the expected premium.

Authorisation remains unclear

Circle Gas’s annual report said the company had received a Letter of Acceptance confirming that its carbon-credit projects met eligibility requirements and could proceed with an application for a Letter of Authorisation.

Kenya’s carbon-market framework distinguishes project approval from authorisation to transfer credits internationally. The final authorisation requires government approval and determines whether specified emissions reductions can be transferred abroad.

M-Gas announced in January 2026 that its clean-cooking carbon project had received a Letter of Approval. However, the accounts do not clarify whether that document is the same as the Letter of Acceptance described in Circle Gas’s annual report.

Circle Gas has not had its authorisation request rejected, but its accounts do not state how much of the $67 million contracted portfolio depends on the outstanding Letter of Authorisation. They also do not disclose how much of the $57 million in prepayments remains available.

The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Risks for clean-cooking companies

Carbon-credit revenue can help support the economics of clean-cooking businesses by monetising emissions reductions. M-Gas supplies liquefied petroleum gas in small, affordable quantities through smart meters that allow households to pay as they cook.

The financial exposure created by expected carbon-credit sales has also been illustrated by the collapse of Koko Networks. The company, which sold subsidised bioethanol stoves and fuel to low-income households, shut down in January 2026 and laid off more than 700 employees. Its Kenyan and UK entities entered administration the following month.

The Kenyan government rejected Koko’s application and declined to authorise its carbon-credit sales. Carbon credits held by Koko’s UK arm became a central asset in the administration process, with administrators seeking to recover money owed to creditors. FirstRand Bank is owed $60 million without a sale of the relevant assets, while other unsecured creditors are owed approximately $171 million.

Circle Gas’s losses and funding requirements cannot be attributed solely to its outstanding authorisation. However, the company’s accounts show how reliance on future carbon-credit proceeds can coexist with significant financing needs and uncertainty over when contracted credits can be delivered.