Syrian Drilling Programme

Gulfsands Petroleum PLC
16 January 2006

16 January 2006



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

Gulfsands Signs Letters of Intent for Two Drilling Rigs on Block 26, Syria

Gulfsands Announces the First Two Prospects to be Drilled on Block 26

Gulfsands Petroleum PLC (symbol GPX), the AIM listed oil and gas exploration,
development and production company with activities in the USA, Syria and Iraq,
is pleased to announce the signing of a Letter of Intent for each of two
land-based drilling rigs on Block 26 in Syria.  Additionally, the Company and
its partner, Emerald Energy Plc, have selected the first two prospects for
drilling within Block 26.

Letters of Intent on Two Drilling Rigs

Gulfsands executed two Letters of Intent (LOI) with MB Drilling Overseas
Limited.  These LOIs are for two separate rigs: MB Rig 21 capable of drilling
the shallow Cretaceous wells and MB Rig 3 for deeper drilling to the Paleozoic.
The LOI for the shallow drilling rig is for one well plus a second well option,
while the second LOI for the deep rig will involve the sharing of the rig with
another company operating in Syria. This rig is planned to be contracted for a
one-year period with an option to extend for 2 additional one-year periods so
that the Company will be capable of drilling a series of Paleozoic wells during
2006 and 2007.  Negotiations on definitive rig contracts are now underway and
Gulfsands expects these to be signed shortly.

Two Prospects Selected for Drilling

Gulfsands and its partner within Block 26, Emerald Energy Plc, have selected the
first two prospects for drilling within Block 26.

The first prospect to be drilled is known as Souedieh North and is located in
the northeast region of Block 26.  This vertical well will be drilled to an
approximate total depth of 7,216 feet with the primary objective being
Cretaceous aged reservoirs similar to those producing in the adjacent Souedieh
and Karachok oil fields.  This prospect has the potential to contain in excess
of 100 million barrels of recoverable oil (Gulfsands' internal estimate of
potential).  We expect that the spud date for this well will occur on or about
the first of May 2006.

The second prospect, known as Tigris, will also be located in the northeast
region of the Block.  This vertical well will be drilled to an approximate total
depth of 14,760 feet with the primary objectives being a series of Carboniferous
and Devonian sandstone reservoirs.  The Tigris structure is directly underlying
the Souedieh oil field (the largest known oil field in Syria), where oil is
produced from the shallower Cretaceous reservoirs.  Wireline log evaluation of
an existing well on the structure drilled some years ago has identified pay
zones within the objective reservoirs, and the Tigris-1 well is designed to
evaluate these reservoirs and appraise this potential hydrocarbon accumulation.
This prospect has the potential to contain in excess of 500 million barrels of
recoverable oil equivalent (Gulfsands' internal estimate of potential).  The
well is expected to spud in mid-to-late August 2006 after the rig completes an
existing long-term drilling contract in Syria with another company.

Gulfsands holds a 50% working interest in each of these prospects.

John Dorrier, CEO of Gulfsands Petroleum, said:

'This announcement underlines our commitment to an aggressive drilling programme
on Block 26 in Syria where we plan to drill 4 wells by August 2007.  The
drilling program in 2006 will be underway shortly with these rigs, and the
prospects for significant reserves additions are very good.  We are particularly
excited about the Tigris Prospect beneath Souedieh Field and have undertaken
further study of the existing well and 3D seismic data to more accurately assess
the reserves potential associated with this structure.

'These two wells have the combined potential to contain in excess of 600 million
barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.'

Enquiries:

Gulfsands Petroleum (Houston)                                001-713-626-9564
David DeCort, Chief Financial Officer

College Hill (London)                                        020-7457-2020
Ben Brewerton / Nick Elwes

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



Note to Editors

•         Gulf of Mexico, USA

The Group owns interests in 64 offshore blocks comprising approximately 216,000
gross acres which includes 39 producing oil and gas fields offshore Texas and
Louisiana with proved and probable reserves of approximately 30.3 billion cubic
feet of natural gas equivalents, consisting of 14.94 billion cubic feet of
natural gas and 2.56 million barrels of oil as of 30 June 2005 with a net
present value of approximately $129 million.

•         Syria

In Syria, Gulfsands owns a 50% working interest in Block 26 and is the operator.
The block covers 11,000 square kilometres and surrounds areas which currently
produce over 100,000 barrels of oil per day from existing fields.  In January
2006 the Group completed the acquisition of 1,155 kilometers of 2D seismic and
anticipates the drilling of the first well during the first half of 2006.
Gulfsands has identified 31 exploitation and exploration prospects and leads
with mean resources potential exceeding 1 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

•         Iraq

Gulfsands signed a Memorandum of Understanding in January 2005 with the Ministry
of Oil in Iraq for the Misan Gas Project in Southern Iraq and is currently
negotiating the definitive contract for the project.  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.

•         Onshore USA

Gulfsands operates onshore in the USA through its 80% owned subsidiary company
Darcy Energy LLC.  At the Emily Hawes field, initial gas production commenced in
the summer of 2005.  The first well in the Barb Mag oil field has been drilled
and wireline logged with some 38 feet of potential net pay and production tested
at 1.5 million cubic feet of natural gas and 36 barrels of condensate per day.
Production from this well should commence during the first quarter of 2006.
Darcy Energy has a 34.375% and 37.5% working interest in these fields
respectively.




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