www.gulfkeystone.com
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. It holds a majority working interest in the Shaikan, Sheikh Adi and Ber Bahr exploration blocks and a further interest in the Akri-Bijeel block. Gulf Keystone is the Operator of the Shaikan and Sheikh Adi Production Sharing Contracts. Following a major discovery at Shaikan in 2009 and a discovery at Akri-Bijeel in 2010, the Company is undertaking an ambitious 2011-2012 exploration and appraisal programme across the four adjacent blocks. Gulf Keystone is also focused on continuing domestic oil sales and increasing oil export operations in order to move towards the Company’s production target of over 5,000 barrels of oil per day (“bopd”), increasing to 10,000 bopd thereafter.
Gulf Keystone Petroleum exits 2011 producing over 4,000 barrels of oil a day
Gulf Keystone Petroleum (LON:GKP) this morning said it produced 103,328 barrels of oil a day by the end of November from its extended tests on wells one and three on the Shaikan block in Northern Iraq.
This equates to daily production of 2,520 barrels, though GKP exited 2011 with test production levels in excess of 4,000 barrels.
John Gerstenlauer, the company’s chief operating officer, said: "As an important addition to Gulf Keystone’s aggressive exploration and appraisal campaign, the Shaikan extended well test provides us with an opportunity to continue to gain new data and better understanding of this world-class discovery in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
“This early test production is also important to enhance the company’s already extensive commercial and marketing relationships on the ground in anticipation of further optimization of the Shaikan test production facilities and the commencement of the Bijell-1 extended well test on the Akri-Bijeel block in 2012.”
The details of the company’s current production from the world-class Shaikan block came as part of a wider update of its progress in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.
The group’s Shaikan-4 appraisal well has completed one of seven planned tests targeting the Jurassic and Triassic formations.
The company said Shaikan-5 initially made slower than anticipated progress due to “stability issues encountered in the shallow formations”. However the well, which is at a depth of 1,008 metres, is now drilling ahead to a total depth of 3,500 metres.
The sixth well on the Shaikan field has now been drilled to a measured depth of 362 metres and a 26 inch casing has been set. The plan is to drill to a total depth of 3,800 metres.
Shaikan is estimated to contain 8 billion barrels of crude calculated on a P90 basis – meaning the oil has a 90 per cent certainty of being produced. The P10 value is 13.4 billion barrels, giving a mean figure of 10.5 billion barrels.
The group also has interests in the Akri-Bijeel and Ber Bahr blocks in Kurdistan. It owns 40 per cent of the latter, as does the operator Genel, with Kurdistan Regional Government receiving a free carry for the remaining 20 per cent.
The current resource estimate is 1.5 billion barrels of oil in place, though analysts believe Ber Bahr could actually be larger than Shaikan.
The first exploration well on the block is currently underway and has reached a depth of 2,418 metres – not far from its target depth of 3,000 metres.
At Akri-Bijeel, in which it has a 20 per cent stake, an ambitious drilling programme is planned for 2012. The Bekhme-1 well failed to hit commercial oil or gas. It was drilled to 5,000 metres in the Triassic, but the data uncovered will make a significant contribution to the company’s understanding of the area, GKP said.
