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's Gerstenlauer says Shaikan-4 could be best well to date
Gulf Keystone Petroleum’s (LON:GKP) chief operating officer John Gerstenlauer reckons the Shaikan-4 may be the best well it has logged to date.
In the latest operations update the group said it achieved a flow rate of 4,970 barrels and 7 million standard cubic feet of gas a day from a thin zone at the bottom of the lower-lying Kurre Chine B formation.
The oil was a 39 degree API light crude, while the gas flowed at a wellhead pressure 1,101 PSI.
In the Kurre Chine C, Shaikan-4 achieved a flow rate of 563 barrels a day and flowed 3.65 million cubic feet of gas. These were two of seven planned well tests.
Gerstenlauer said: “Initial results of the Shaikan-4 well testing programme are very encouraging with logging results indicating that Shaikan-4 may be the best well which Gulf Keystone has logged to date in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
“We look forward to adding to our already outstanding drilling success in the region by completing further Shaikan-4 well tests, which will be followed by more results from the Shaikan-5 and Shaikan-6 appraisal wells before the appraisal programme of the Shaikan world-class discovery is completed.”
The fifth well on the Shaikan block is just under halfway towards hitting a total depth of 3,500 metres, while Shaikan-6 is at around 844 metres.
Drilling began on Aqra-1, the first appraisal on the Akri-Bijeel block, on January 17, while Ber Bahr-1, the first well on the block of the same name, is very close to reaching its target depth of 3,000 metres. Currently it sits at 2,778 metres.
The current resource estimate for Ber Bahr is 1.5 billion barrels of oil in place, though analysts believe Ber Bahr could actually be larger than Shaikan.
“Initial results from the Ber Bahr-1 exploration well and progress in the 2012 wide-ranging exploration, appraisal and early development programme of the Akri-Bijeel block are highly anticipated," said Gerstenlauer.
