Shaikan Production Update

RNS Number : 2425B

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd.

05 January 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.

5 January 2015

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (LSE: GKP)

("Gulf Keystone" or "the Company")

Shaikan Production 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 pleased to announce that the existing Shaikan production facilities ("PF-1" and "PF-2") are now producing from seven wells with Shaikan-8 expected to come online in January 2015. Total daily production has been gradually increasing since early December 2014, reaching the Company's 40,000 gross barrels of oil per day target on 27 December. On 29 December, a record number of 354 trucks were loaded at PF-1 and PF-2 with nearly 58,000 gross barrels of Shaikan crude sent by truck to the Turkish coast for further export sale.

On 24 December, the Company spudded Shaikan-11, an additional producer, which will be tied to PF-2 through the 11 km flowline, already in place.   

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

"We are pleased to begin 2015 on the back of a positive end to last year, having achieved the Company's record daily production and crude oil export sales rates from the Shaikan field. 2014 was not without its challenges for the Kurdistan Region and we are proud of what has been achieved against this backdrop, in particular a nearly 300% increase in Shaikan production and export sales since January 2014. Our immediate focus is to ensure a stable daily production rate of 40,000 gross barrels of oil per day, which is a base for future production growth, whilst maintaining a regular payment cycle for Shaikan export oil sales by truck and to finalise a pipeline access solution for Shaikan."

Enquiries:

Gulf Keystone Petroleum:	[phone]
John Gerstenlauer, Chief Executive Officer
Anastasia Vvedenskaya, Head of Investor Relations	[phone] [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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