GKP RNS Payment made for Shaikan crude oil exports

RNS Number : 5412Y

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd.

01 December 2014

 



Not for release, publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part in or into the United States or any jurisdiction other than the United Kingdom and Bermuda where to do so would constitute a contravention of the relevant laws or regulations of such jurisdiction.  This announcement (and the information contained herein) does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction where such offer, solicitation or sale would constitute a contravention of the relevant laws or regulations of such jurisdiction.

01 December 2014

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (LSE: GKP)

Payment made for Shaikan crude oil exports

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited ("Gulf Keystone" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to the recent statement by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) regarding payment to producers for crude oil exports, an initial payment of USD 15 million gross has been made to the Company.

Gulf Keystone now looks forward to the establishment of a pattern of regular payments for export crude sales.  In the meantime, the Company continues to adopt a prudent approach to capital expenditure.

The statement made by the KRG's MNR on 7 November 2014 regarding the plan to make an initial payment to producers for exports, with further payments to follow on a regular basis, can be viewed at http://mnr.krg.org/index.php/en/press-releases/422-update-on-oil-export-from-the-kurdistan-region-of-iraq.

Commenting on today's news, John Gerstenlauer, Gulf Keystone's CEO, said.

"We welcome this initial payment of USD 15 million gross from the MNR for Shaikan export oil sales. It represents a major step forward for us and we are grateful to our partners in the KRG, who we resolutely stand beside. We continue to have constructive discussions with the KRG in relation to receiving payment in full for our oil sales.

Following our first anniversary of steady export sales, this initial payment is another important milestone in Gulf Keystone's history and further evidence of the Company's great momentum.  With the creation of a regular payment cycle we look forward to being able to deliver further benefits to the people of Kurdistan, and all our stakeholders, as we consolidate our position as a key producer in the region from the world class Shaikan field."

Enquiries:

Gulf Keystone Petroleum: Anastasia Vvedenskaya, Head of Investor Relations	[phone] [phone]
Media Relations and Financial PR Adviser:	[phone]
Mark Antelme

or visit: www.gulfkeystone.com

Notes to Editors:

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

·           Gulf Keystone Petroleum International (GKPI) holds Production Sharing Contracts for four exploration blocks in Kurdistan, the Shaikan, Sheikh Adi, Ber Bahr and Akri-Bijeel blocks.

·           GKPI is the operator of the Shaikan Block, which is a major commercial discovery, with a working interest of 75% and is partnered with MOL Kalegran Limited (a 100% subsidiary of MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas plc.) and Texas Keystone Inc., which have working interests of 20% and 5% respectively.  Texas Keystone Inc. holds its interest in trust for Gulf Keystone, pending transfer of its interest to the Company.

·           Gulf Keystone is moving into the large-scale phased development of the Shaikan field targeting 100,000 bopd of production capacity during Phase 1 of the Shaikan Field Development Plan following its approval in June 2013.

Disclaimer

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements.  These statements are made by the Company's Directors in good faith based on the information available to them up to the time of their approval of this announcement but such statements should be treated with caution due to inherent uncertainties, including both economic and business factors, underlying such forward-looking information.  This announcement has been prepared solely to provide additional information to shareholders to assess the Group's strategies and the potential for those strategies to succeed.  This announcement should not be relied on by any other party or for any other purpose.

This communication and the information contained herein is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States unless they are registered or are exempt from registration. Any public offering of securities to be made in the United States would be made by means of a prospectus that would contain detailed information about the company and its management, as well as financial statements. The company does not intend to register any portion of this offering in the United States or to conduct a public offering in the United States or any other jurisdiction. Any public offering of securities to be made in the United States would be made by means of a prospectus that would contain detailed information about the Company and its management, as well as financial statements. Copies of this communication are not being, and should not be, distributed in or sent into the United States.

 

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