Shaikan-5 Appraisal Well Update

RNS Number : 1161G

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd.

26 June 2012

 



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.

26 June 2012

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (AIM: GKP)

("Gulf Keystone" or "the Company")

Kurdistan Operational Update

Shaikan-5 Appraisal Well Update

Gulf Keystone today provides an update on its ongoing appraisal programme at the Shaikan block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which is a major discovery with independently audited gross oil-in-place volumes of between 8 billion barrels to 13.4 billion barrels calculated on the P90 to P10 basis, with a mean value of 10.5 billion barrels.

The Company has completed the drilling operations of the Shaikan-5 appraisal well, drilled 6 km to the north-east of the Shaikan-2 appraisal well. Shaikan-5 is the fourth well in the five-well appraisal programme, which has been drilled to evaluate the eastern culmination of the Shaikan structure. In May 2012, the well reached a total depth of 3,750 metres in the Kurre Chine Dolomite formation in the Triassic, which is the deepest horizon drilled by a Shaikan well to date.

Extensive logs and core acquired during the Shaikan-5 drilling operations have further enhanced the Company's understanding of the reservoir and its fracture system. Results obtained in the Jurassic interval indicated a continuous oil column with approximately 237 metres of net pay, and porosities which are consistent with results obtained elsewhere in the field, most recently with the Shaikan-4 appraisal well. Good hydrocarbon saturations were calculated throughout the Jurassic interval where fracture intensity appears to be comparable to or exceed those seen in other Shaikan wells. Oil shows were also recorded whilst drilling in the Triassic formation.

Work is underway to evaluate these preliminary results, and further testing of the prolific Jurassic reservoir and the Triassic interval is being considered once a work-over rig is available to move to the Shaikan-5 location. Following the completion of the well testing programme, Shaikan-5 will be completed as a Jurassic producer and tied to the Company's second Extended Well Test facility (EWT-2), which is currently under construction.

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

"These solid preliminary results obtained with the Shaikan-5 appraisal well confirm the massively prolific nature of the Jurassic interval of the Shaikan structure. We look forward to completing the Shaikan appraisal programme, including further testing of the Jurassic and Triassic intervals with the Shaikan-5 and -6 wells, and incorporating all the new results into our independently audited gross oil-in-place estimates for the world-class Shaikan discovery. Deeper potential of the Triassic and Permian horizons will be tested with the Shaikan-7 exploration well in 2013." 

Enquiries:

Gulf Keystone Petroleum:	[phone]
Todd Kozel, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Ewen Ainsworth, Finance Director
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 33 years of relevant experience within the sector and meets the criteria of a qualified person under the AIM note for mining, oil and gas companies, 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 and production company focused on exploration in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

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

§ Gulf Keystone Petroleum International (GKPI) holds Production Sharing Contracts for fourexploration blocks in Kurdistan, including the Shaikan, Sheikh Adi, Ber Bahr and Akri-Bijeel blocks.

§ Shaikan is a major discovery with independently audited gross oil-in-place volumes of between 8 billion barrels to 13.4 billion barrels calculated on the P90 to P10 basis, with a mean value of 10.5 billion barrels.

§ The Company's shares have traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange since listing on 8 September 2004.

§ Gross oil-in-place (or petroleum-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 (petroleum-initially-in-place) volumes is represented by a probability distribution with a low, mid 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; P50 represents at least a 50% probability (mid) that the quantities determined to be in place will equal or exceed the mid 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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