Kurdistan Operational Update

RNS Number : 5882N

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd.

05 September 2011

 



Not for release, publication or distribution in or into the United States or jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom and Bermuda where to do so would constitute a contravention of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction.

5 September 2011

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (AIM: GKP)

("Gulf Keystone" or "the Company")

Kurdistan Operational Update

Gulf Keystone today provides an update on its ongoing exploration and appraisal programme for the Shaikan block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Shaikan is a major discovery with independently audited gross oil-in-place volumes of between 4.9 billion barrels to 10.8 billion barrels calculated on the P90 to P10 basis with a mean value of 7.5 billion barrels.

Shaikan-2 Well Test Update  

Further to the announcement of 18 August on the new Triassic discovery with the Shaikan-2 Appraisal Well, the Company has completed a flow test in the lower section of the Kurre Chine B zone in the Upper Triassic zone of the Shaikan-2 Appraisal Well drilled approximately nine km to the south-east of the Shaikan-1 discovery well.

The Kurre Chine B flow test in Shaikan-2 achieved flow rates of 2,600 barrels of 40 degree API oil per day with associated gas of 5.4 MMcf per day through a 48/64"choke.

So far, the Company has conducted three wells tests on Shaikan-2 with the maximum aggregate flow rate in excess of 15,000 barrels of oil per day ("bopd") with up to five additional tests still to be performed as part of the ongoing Shaikan-2 testing programme in the Triassic and Jurassic.  The next test will be conducted on the upper section of the Kurre Chine B.

Shaikan-4 Drilling Update

The Shaikan-4 Appraisal Well, drilled six km to the west of the Shaikan-1 discovery well, is currently drilling ahead at a measured depth (MD) of 2,580 meters. Preliminary well logs through the upper Jurassic (down to the top of the Butmah formation) indicate that the net pay count on this well for the upper Jurassic reservoirs is significantly better than those achieved with either Shaikan-1 or Shaikan-2.

John Gerstenlauer, Gulf Keystone's Chief Operating Officer commented:

"This latest in a series of successful Shaikan-2 well tests follows the announcement of the new Triassic discovery made with this well earlier this month. Together with the progress in the Shaikan-4 drilling operations and the oncoming spudding of Shaikan-5, it is a confirmation of Gulf Keystone's success in both drilling and proving the value of the giant Shaikan field, which is our immediate focus".

Enquiries:

Gulf Keystone Petroleum:	[phone]
Todd Kozel, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Ewen Ainsworth, Finance Director
Strand Hanson Limited	[phone]
Simon Raggett / Rory Murphy / James Harris
Mirabaud Securities LLP	[phone]
Peter Krens
Pelham Bell Pottinger	[phone]
Mark Antelme

or visit: www.gulfkeystone.com

John Gerstenlauer, the Company's Chief Operating Officer, who has 31 years of relevant experience within the sector and meets the criteria of a qualified person under the AIM note for mining, oil and gas companies, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement.  Mr. Gerstenlauer is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Notes to Editors:

§ Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (AIM: GKP) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused on exploration in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

§ Gulf Keystone Petroleum International (GKPI) holds Production Sharing Contracts for fourexploration blocks in Kurdistan.

§ The Company's shares have traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange since listing on 8^th September 2004.

§ Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited is registered in Hamilton, Bermuda with further offices in Erbil, Kurdistan (Iraq), Algiers, Algeria and London, UK.

Not for release, publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom and Bermuda where to do so would constitute a contravention of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction. This document (and the information contained herein) does not contain or constitute an offer of securities for sale, or solicitation of an offer to purchase securities, in the United States or jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom and Bermuda where to do so would constitute a contravention of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless the securities are registered under the Securities Act, or an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act is available. No public offering of the securities will be made in the United States.

 

END

 

 

MSCUGUGPBUPGPWC