Rejection of Legal Claims

RNS Number : 6307Y

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd

29 December 2010

 



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.

29 December 2010

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (AIM: GKP)

("Gulf Keystone" or "the Company")

 Rejection of Legal Claims

The Board of Gulf Keystone announces that Gulf Keystone and two of its subsidiaries (referred to for the purposes of this announcement only, as "the Companies") received notice on 23 December 2010 that an arbitration ("the NYC Arbitration") was commenced by Excalibur Ventures LLC ("Excalibur") in New York on 17 December 2010 asserting certain contractual and non-contractual claims against the Companies and claiming that Excalibur is entitled to  an interest of up to 30% in the Companies' blocks in Kurdistan.  

On 21 December, 2010, Excalibur applied without notice to the Companies to the Commercial Court in London for a "worldwide freezing injunction" against the Companies' assets, which was refused by the Commercial Court on the basis that the Judge did not consider there was a risk of dissipation of assets. Excalibur also commenced proceedings in the Commercial Court in London on 17 December 2010 on the same grounds as in the NYC Arbitration ("the Commercial Court Claim") in order allegedly to protect its position in relation to potential limitation of actions under New York and/or English law.  The Companies received notice on 23 December 2010 of the claims, since which time they have been in consultation with their legal advisers.

The Companies dispute the allegations and claims asserted in the NYC Arbitration and the Commercial Court Claim and intend to vigorously contest them.

The Board of Gulf Keystone will provide further announcements in due course.

Commenting on today's developments, Todd Kozel, Chairman and CEO said:

""We believe we have very good grounds to vigorously challenge these claims in both the US and UK courts.

"We are confident of being able to defeat these claims in any legal jurisdiction and meanwhile, we remain focused on building upon our considerable operational success and continuing to prove the full value of our world class acreage."

Enquiries:

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

or visit: www.gulfkeystone.com

Notes to Editors:

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

·      Gulf Keystone Petroleum International (GKPI) holds Production Sharing Contracts for four exploration blocks in Kurdistan. The Company is currently embarking on an active appraisal and exploration drilling campaign in Kurdistan, including work to fully understand the scale of the world class Shaikan Field discovered in 2009.

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

 

 

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