Drilling Commences on Yousefieh-2 Appraisal Well

Immediate Release 21 January 2009



                       Gulfsands Petroleum plc
          Drilling Commences on Yousefieh-2 Appraisal Well

London,  21st January 2009:  Gulfsands Petroleum plc ("Gulfsands",
the "Group" or the "Company" - AIM: GPX), the oil and gas production,
exploration and development company with activities in Syria, Iraq,
and the U.S.A., is pleased to announce that following the Yousefieh-1
oil discovery announced in November 2008, drilling operations have
commenced on the Yousefieh-2 appraisal well in Block 26.
The Yousefieh-2 well is planned to be drilled as a vertical well to a
total depth of approximately 2060 meters, and will target the
Cretaceous aged reservoirs found to be oil bearing in the Yousefieh-1
discovery well. The Yousefieh-1 well encountered approximately 63
metres of net oil pay (65 metres gross), and flowed oil to surface at
an average rate of 900 barrels of oil per day (bopd) on drill-stem
test over a 19 metre interval at the top of the reservoir.  The
Yousefieh oil discovery established the presence of a new exploration
play in this area, and the Company believes that the recently
announced 640 square kilometer 3D seismic survey will identify
various exploration prospects some of which will be similar to
Yousefieh.
The Yousefieh-2 well is located approximately 1.8 kilometres east of
the Yousefieh-1 well, and near the currently interpreted eastern
limit of the accumulation.  The Company expects the Yousefieh-2 well
to encounter a thinner reservoir section that will provide valuable
information on lateral variations in reservoir characteristics such
as facies, porosity and permeability in order to refine the geologic
model and to aid in determining reserves and future appraisal or
development well locations.  The Yousefieh-1 discovery well is
located very close to existing infrastructure, with the surface
location of the well lying within 3 kilometers of the Khurbet East
Early Production Facility (EPF).
The Company expects that drilling operations will be completed within
45 days.
This release has been approved by Richard Malcolm, Chief Executive of
Gulfsands Petroleum Plc who has a Bachelor of Science degree in
Geology with 29 years of experience in petroleum exploration and
management. Mr. Malcolm has consented to the inclusion of the
technical information in this release in the form and context in
which it appears.








For more information please contact:


Gulfsands Petroleum (London)                      [phone]
Ric Malcolm, Chief Executive Officer
Kenneth Judge, Director of Corporate Development  [phone]
& Communications

Buchanan Communications Limited (London)          [phone]
Bobby Morse
Ben Willey
Sam Bottrill

RBC Capital Markets (London)                      [phone]
Andrew K. Smith
Sarah Wharry


ABOUT GULFSANDS:

Gulfsands is listed on AIM.

Syria

Gulfsands owns a 50% working interest and is operator of Block 26 in
North East Syria.  The Khurbet East oil field was discovered
following the completion of drilling of the KHE-1 well in June 2007
and commenced commercial production within 13 months of the
discovery. This field is currently producing more than 10,000 barrels
of oil per day through the Khurbet East Early Production Facility
(EPF).  Block 26 covers approximately 8,250 square kilometres and
encompasses existing fields which currently produce over 100,000
barrels of oil per day. These fields are operated mainly by the Syria
Petroleum Company.  On 23 August 2007, the Company initiated the
first extension period of exploration on Block 26 for a further
period of three years.

Iraq

Gulfsands signed a Memorandum of Understanding in January 2005 with
the Ministry of Oil in Iraq for the Maysan Gas Project in Southern
Iraq and following completion of a feasibility study on the project
is negotiating details of definitive contract for this regionally
important development.  The project will gather, process and transmit
natural gas that is currently a waste by-product of oil production
and as a result of the present practice of gas flaring, contributes
to significant environmental damage in the region.

Gulf of Mexico, USA

The Company owns interests in 48 offshore blocks comprising
approximately 168,000 gross acres which includes numerous producing
oil and gas fields offshore Texas and Louisiana with proved and
probable recoverable reserves net to Gulfsands at 31 December 2007 of
41.5 BCFGE (6.9 MMBOE), consisting of 27.3 BCFG and 2.36 MMBO.

Onshore USA

Gulfsands owns interests in two oil and gas fields onshore Texas, USA
(98.5% working interest in Emily Hawes Field and 37.5% working
interest in Barb Mag Field) with proved and probable recoverable
reserves net to Gulfsands at 31 December 2007 of 3.1 BCFGE (0.5
MMBOE), consisting of 2.8 BCFG and 57,000 barrels of oil.
Certain statements included herein constitute "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation.
These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions
made by Gulfsands and as such are not a guarantee of future
performance. Actual results could differ materially from those
expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements due to
factors such as general economic and market conditions, increased
costs of production or a decline in oil and gas prices. Gulfsands is
under no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.

More information can be found on the Company's website
www.gulfsands.com

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