Kurdistan Operational Update

RNS Number : 9258W

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd.

13 November 2014

 



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13 November 2014

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (LSE: GKP)

("Gulf Keystone" or "the Company")

Kurdistan Operational Update

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited, an exploration and production company with operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, today provides an update on the Company's operations at Shaikan, its key producing asset.

The Company is on track to complete all remaining work in order to achieve 40,000 gross barrels of oil per day ("bopd") of production capacity from the Shaikan production facilities ("PF-1" and "PF-2") by the end of 2014.

The total production levels are stable, averaging 23,000 gross bopd from three wells at PF-1 and two wells at PF-2. The civil works are ongoing to connect the Shaikan-7 and -8 wells to PF-1. The trenching work has been completed on the 15 km connection between the Shaikan-10 well and PF-2 and the flowlines are currently being laid. 

Shaikan crude oil exports by truck to the Turkish coast have continued uninterrupted since 29 November 2013. All of our production is currently being exported and nineteen tanker cargoes totalling 4.7 million gross barrels of Shaikan crude oil have been sold to the international market since the Shaikan crude oil export sales began from the port of Dortyol in January 2014.

The Company welcomes the announcement made by the Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministry of Natural Resources on 7 November 2014 regarding the plan to make an initial payment of US$75 million on account to producers for exports in November 2014, with further payments to follow on a regular basis. The announcement can be viewed at http://mnr.krg.org/index.php/en/press-releases/422-update-on-oil-export-from-the-kurdistan-region-of-iraq.

The management team will host a conference call for analysts and investors at 11am UK time today. A live audio webcast of the call will be available on the Company's website www.gulfkeystone.com.

John Gerstenlauer, Gulf Keystone's Chief Executive Officer commented: 

"Gulf Keystone's production operations and export oil sales have continued uninterrupted in 2014. All current production is being exported by truck and these exports are set to increase in the coming months as we are nearing our production target of 40,000 bopd. As we stand by the Kurdistan Region and its people, we welcome the KRG's commitment to putting in place a regular payment cycle for oil exports from the region. As our production increases, we look forward to receiving our full contractual entitlement."

Enquiries:

Gulf Keystone Petroleum:	[phone]
Anastasia Vvedenskaya, Head of Investor Relations
Bell Pottinger	[phone]
Mark Antelme / Henry Lerwill

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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