Kurdistan Operational Update

RNS Number : 2165E

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd.

06 February 2015

 



Not for release, publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part in or into the United States or any jurisdiction other than the United Kingdom and Bermuda where to do so would constitute a contravention of the relevant laws or regulations of such jurisdiction.  This announcement (and the information contained herein) does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction where such offer, solicitation or sale would constitute a contravention of the relevant laws or regulations of such jurisdiction.

6 February 2015

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (LSE: GKP)

("Gulf Keystone" or "the Company")

Kurdistan Operational Update

Gulf Keystone Petroleum, 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.

Gulf Keystone remains in a dialogue with the Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministry of Natural Resources ("MNR"), in order to receive the outstanding payments due to the Company and establish a stable payment cycle for export crude oil sales in the future.

In the interim, in order to maintain revenues and cash flow, Gulf Keystone will be recommencing crude oil supply for local Kurdistan use. This provides the prospect of receiving revenues in the near term. 

Export crude oil deliveries by truck have therefore been temporarily suspended.  This is expected to be a short term measure until a regular payment cycle can be established for sales via the export route. The Company is actively working towards an early pipeline access solution for Shaikan crude, which will provide significantly improved margins than trucking to the export market.

As previously announced, the Company will publish its results for the year ended 31 December 2014 on Thursday 9 April 2015.

John Gerstenlauer, Gulf Keystone's CEO said:

"Further to the oil export agreement between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Federal Government of Iraq reached in December 2014, and the recent passing of Iraq's 2015 federal budget, we remain confident that a stable payment cycle will be established in the near term, and we expect to receive payment for all past and ongoing oil sales from Shaikan.

"The Company is taking a prudent approach to its capital expenditure in 2015 and is striving to ensure consistent and stable revenues in the short-term, which a return to the domestic market provides. Meanwhile, a number of longer term financing options are currently being progressed by the Board."

Enquiries:

Gulf Keystone Petroleum:	[phone]
John Gerstenlauer, Chief Executive Officer
Anastasia Vvedenskaya, Head of Investor Relations	[phone]
Media Relations and Financial PR Adviser:	[phone]
Mark Antelme

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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