Acquisition Closes

Gulfsands Petroleum PLC
31 May 2005


31 May 2005


Gulfsands Petroleum PLC
('Gulfsands' or 'the Company')


Gulfsands closes on acquisition of Devon Energy's 80% interest in Syria Block 26

Gulfsands closes on farm out of 50% interest to SoyuzNefteGas in Syria Block 26


Gulfsands Petroleum (symbol GPX), the AIM listed oil and gas exploration,
development and production company with activities in the USA, Syria and Iraq
announces that it has successfully closed on the acquisition of Devon Syria,
Ltd.  The sole asset of Devon Syria, Ltd. is an 80% working interest in the
Production Sharing Contract for Block 26 in Syria, in which Gulfsands previously
owned only a 20% working interest.  The deal was first announced on 10 May 2005.


Gulfsands also has closed its farm out with SoyuzNefteGas, a Russian oil and gas
company, whereby Gulfsands has assigned to SoyuzNefteGas a 50% working interest
in Block 26.  The new Block 26 ownership structure has Gulfsands as operator
with a 50% working interest and SoyuzNefteGas with the remaining 50% working
interest.


The new Gulfsands-operated venture will proceed with the work program in Block
26 which consists of seismic acquisition and drilling of 4 exploration wells
during the next two years.  During the balance of 2005, Gulfsands expects to
acquire a minimum of 500 kilometers of new 2D seismic in Block 26 and commence
planning for the first exploration well to be drilled late in 2005 or early
2006.


Gulfsands' CEO, John Dorrier, said:


'We're delighted to have closed the deal so quickly.   We have already
identified 27 exploitation and exploration prospects and leads with mean
resources potential of 1 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the block. We
plan to move quickly to execute the work program in the Block during the
remainder of 2005 and should be in a position to drill our first exploration
well late this year or early next year.'


Enquiries:


  Gulfsands Petroleum (Houston)                 713-626-9564
    David DeCort, Chief Financial Officer


  College Hill (London)                         020-7457-2020
    Ben Brewerton / Jim Joseph


  Seymour Pierce (London)                       020-7107-8000
    Richard Redmayne
    Jonathan Wright


 Note to Editors


•         Gulf of Mexico, USA

The Company has a 52.6% interest in Northstar Gulfsands, which owns interests in
39 producing oil and gas fields offshore Texas and Louisiana and operates 8 of
those fields. Northstar Gulfsands has proved and probable reserves of 4.7 mmbbls
of oil and some 29.2 bcf of gas as of November 1, 2004.


•         Syria

In Syria, Gulfsands owns a 50% working interest in Block 26 and is the operator.
The block covers 11,000 sq kms and surrounds areas which currently produce over
100,000 bopd from existing fields.  The Company is planning the acquisition of
an extensive 2D seismic programme and the drilling of the first well during
2005. Gulfsands has identified 27 exploitation and exploration prospects and
leads with mean resources potential of 1 billion barrels of recoverable oil.


•         Iraq

Gulfsands has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of
Oil in Iraq for the Misan Gas Project in Southern Iraq.  The project will
gather, process and transmit natural gas that is currently a waste by-product of
oil production in the region and will end the environmentally damaging practice
of gas flaring. Gulfsands has completed a feasibility study and expects to
conduct further technical work and commercial discussions with the Iraq Oil
Ministry in the first half of 2005.


•         Onshore USA

At the Emily Hawes field, which has previously produced approximately 1.7 bcf of
natural gas before being shut-in, gas production is expected to start during the
summer of 2005.  The first well in the Barb Mag oil field is expected to be
drilled in the third quarter of 2005.  Darcy Energy has a 25% and 37.5% working
interest in these fields respectively.


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange