Shaikan-3 Shallow Appraisal W

RNS Number : 9144Y

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd

05 January 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.

05 January 2011

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (AIM: GKP)

("Gulf Keystone" or "the Company")

Kurdistan Operational Update:

Completion of Drilling and Testing Operations on the Shaikan-3 Shallow Appraisal Well

Gulf Keystone announces the completion of drilling and testing operations on its Shaikan-3 shallow appraisal well.  This well was designed to drill and test the Cretaceous intervals in the immediate vicinity of the Shaikan-1 discovery well. The Company has a 75 percent working interest in the Block and is partnered with the MOL subsidiary, Kalegran, and Texas Keystone which have the remaining 20 and 5 percent working interests respectively.

The well drilled the entire Cretaceous interval and on into the Jurassic Sargelu formation.  A total of two open hole and two cased hole flow tests were conducted in the Cretaceous.  As a result of these tests, log evaluations and recovered fluid samples, the Company's current P50 to P10 estimate of Garagu oil in place volumes is 220 million to 2.2 billion barrels. These Garagu resources are in the lower portion of the Cretaceous (between 1060m and 1157m). The Shaikan partner group will formulate a development plan for these resources.  

The large spread between P50 and P10 volumes is due to the uncertainty with respect to the exact nature of the Cretaceous down dip, on the flanks of the Shaikan structure.  If the Cretaceous is oil bearing near the flanks, then the P10 volumes become more likely and it is possible that the oil will also be less viscous and of higher API gravity.

In the mean time, due to the different characteristics of the Cretaceous oil, the Shaikan-3 well has been completed as a second Jurassic producer from the Sargelu formation and will flow into the same test facilities as the Shaikan-1 well.

John Gerstenlauer, Gulf Keystone's Chief Operating Officer commented "The Cretaceous resources evaluated by the Shaikan-3 well are massive by any standard.  They represent a significant oil resource for Kurdistan and Iraq.  It is a further demonstration of the huge hydrocarbon potential of the area."

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	[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 meets the criteria of a qualified person under the AIM note for mining, oil and gas companies and 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 company focused on exploration in the Kurdistan region of Northern 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, since listing on 8 Sept 2004.

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

§ Oil initially-in-place is that quantity of petroleum that is estimated, as of a given date, to be contained in known accumulations prior to production. The range of uncertainty of the oil-in-place volumes is represented by a probability distribution with a low and high provided: P90 represents at least a 90% probability (high) that the quantities determined to be in place will equal or exceed the low estimate and P10 represents at least a 10% probability (low) that the quantities determined to be in place will equal or exceed the high estimate

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.

 

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