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Company Information for Gulfsands Petroleum Plc

Company stock charts - 6 Month chart

Exchange AIM; GPX


View full financial data

Company Statement

Gulfsands Petroleum Plc is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company, incorporated in the United Kingdom, whose shares are traded on the Alternative Investment Market ("AIM") of the London Stock Exchange (symbol: GPX). The Group's major focus is on the Middle East, where it has oil exploration and development projects in the Syrian Arab Republic and upstream and midstream oil and gas business development activities in Iraq. Gulfsands also produces oil and gas from a portfolio of properties in the USA, offshore Gulf of Mexico.

Gulfsands' vision is to become one of the pre-eminent independent exploration and production companies in the Middle East and to be viewed as a preferred operator and partner.


Operations and Technology

Gulfsands portfolio includes oil and gas exploration and production projects in Block 26, Syria, oil and gas exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico, USA and upstream and midstream oil and gas business development activities in Iraq.

SYRIA, BLOCK 26
Gulfsands owns a 50% working interest in, and is the operator of, Block 26 in north-east Syria under a production sharing contract ("PSC"). The block covers approximately 8,250 km2 and encompasses existing fields which currently produce over 100,000 bopd of medium gravity 20-26° API crude oil primarily from mid-Cretaceous limestone reservoirs. These fields, which are carved out of the PSC, are operated by third parties including the Syrian Petroleum Company, but Gulfsands retains the deep exploration rights (pre-Triassic) beneath these fields.

Gulfsands has made two discoveries on Block 26: Khurbet East (June 2007) and Yousefieh (November 2008). Commercial approval to develop Khurbet East was granted in February 2008 and production commenced in July 2008. In the last quarter of 2008 the field had average gross crude oil production in excess of 10,000 bopd, with an API in excess of 25°. Proven and probable reserves attributable to Gulfsands at 31 December 2008 were 28.7 mmbbl (working interest), 10.9 mmbbl (entitlement). The Yousefieh discovery will undergo full appraisal during 2009, and the Group expects to obtain approval for commercial development of this discovery during the year. Having previously acquired 400 km2 of 3D seismic data, Gulfsands is in the process of acquiring an additional 850 km˛ of 3D seismic over Block 26 during 2009.

The current exploration period for Block 26 expires in August 2010 but may be extended at the Contractor's option for a further two years. The minimum work commitments for the current exploration period have already been satisfied. The development and production period for Khurbet East expires in February 2033 (25 years after commercial approval) but may be extended at the Contractor's option for a further 10 years.

The Company has also formed a strategic partnership with Cham Holding, a prominent local industrial group, for the purpose of acquiring additional oil and gas projects in Syria and Iraq.

IRAQ, MAYSAN / MISAN GAS PROJECT
Gulfsands has been conducting business development activities in Iraq since 2003 and has formed a subsidiary for its operations in Iraq as well as opened an office in Baghdad.

In January 2005 the Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Oil in Iraq for the Maysan Gas Project in Southern Iraq, following completion of a feasibility study in August 2004, and is currently finalising details of a definitive contract. The project involves the engineering, procurement, construction and operation of a gas gathering system, gas liquids plant and power plant that will gather, process and transmit natural gas currently being flared as a waste by-product of oil production, and will produce electricity to supply the local grid. The project has regional importance not only because of the acute need for power in the area but also because the present practice of gas flaring results in significant environmental damage to the region.

Gulfsands is actively engaged in discussions with respect to financing and potential equity partners.

The Group's primary medium term objective in Iraq is to secure oil and gas exploration and developments projects, and discussions have taken place with certain third parties with this intent. The Group has no reserves in Iraq at present.

USA, GULF OF MEXICO
In the USA Gulf of Mexico, Gulfsands owns interests in 44 blocks comprising approximately 138,000 gross acres in shallow water offshore Texas and Louisiana, which include 30 producing oil and gas fields. All of these fields are operated by third parties. The Group also has an interest in one onshore gas field in Texas.

Working interest production in the last quarter of 2008 averaged 700 boepd, compared with 1,875 boepd in H1 2008, having been adversely impacted by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav in Q3 2008.

Proven and probable reserves at 31 December 2008 were 5.1 mmboe (working interest), 3.9 mmboe (net revenue interest), of which some 46% was oil and 54% gas.

 



Board of Directors and Key Management

Directors
Andrew West Non-Executive Chairman
Richard J. Malcolm Chief Executive Officer
Mahdi Sajjad Executive Director and President
Andrew Rose Director and Chief Financial Officer
Kenneth Judge Director of Corporate Development & Communications
David Cowan Non-Executive Director

Senior Management
Jason P. Oden Vice President, Exploration Manager
Marwan Bashour DPC General Manager (The Operating Company of GPSL)
Richard A. Bresler Vice President Project Engineering
Ian Conway Vice President, Petroleum Engineering
Mazen Mouhanna Deputy General Manager
Dr. Nimr A. Arab Technical Advisor
Mike Green Geological Advisor
Sabih J. Noori Drilling Manager
Nour Aldin Khuluki Senior Petrophysicist
Ziad Hodeifa Senior Seismic Interpreter
Hasan Hamadeh Senior Production Geologist

Company Address

2-4 Cork Street
London, United Kingdom W1S 3LG

Telephone:+44 020 7434 60 60
Facsimile:+44 020 7434 60 61
Email:info[at]gulfsands.com
Website:http://www.gulfsands.com

Additional Address/Key Contact

Regional Offices: Gulfsands Petroleum PLC
Telephone: +1 (713) 626-9564
Fax: +1 (713) 626-0888

USA:
3050 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 1700
Houston, Texas 77056 USA

Syria:
Building #15, West Mezzah Villat, P.O. Box 81
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic

Capital

In accordance with the AIM Rule 26 in so far as the Company is aware, the percentage of the Company's issued share capital that is not in public hands is 29.53%, or 35,171,493 ordinary shares.

Nominated Brokers

RBC Capital Markets
Address: 71 Queen Victoria Street
London, UK
EC4V 4DE

Telephone: +44 020 7489 1188
Fax: +44 020 7332 0316

Nominated Advisors

RBC Capital Markets

Major Shareholders

Significant Shareholders Number of Ordinary Shares % of Total Shares Outstanding

------------------------------------------------------

Directors
Hamilton Capital Partners Limited(1) 3,966,750
Nordman Continental S.A. and Wickham Holdings(2) 8,224,935
David Cowan 441,750
Andrew Rose 400,000

------------------------------------------------------

Schroder Investment Management22,281,49418.53%
Abdul Rahman Kayed11,500,0009.57%
John Dorrier7,911,8506.58%
Al-Mashrek Global Invest Ltd.7,000,0005.82%
David DeCort4,305,6843.58%
George Robinson5,000,0004.16%
Hugh Sloan5,007,2404.16%
The Searle Family Trust4,134,3753.44%

Related News

26/01/10 - Gulfsands Petroleum Gives Operations Updates On Its Development of The Khurbet East And The Yousefieh Fields In Syria As well Its New Exploration Project
03/12/09 - Gulfsands Petroleum and Its New Partner Sinochem announce Ambitious Exploration Plans On Block 26 in Syria For 2010
23/09/09 - Gulfsands Petroleum Making The Middle East Work As Syrian Oil Flows
11/08/09 - Gulfsands Petroleum Sees A Large Boost To Its Output From The Khurbet East Field In Syria
23/06/09 - Gulfsands Petroleum Announces The Success Of Another Development Well On Its Khurbet East Field In Syria
01/06/09 - Gulfsands Petroleum’s Latest Operations Update talks of “Important Milestone” As Gross Output from Its Syrian Acreage Reaches 3 Million Barrels Of Oil

Most Recent Statement

09/03/10 - Notification of Major Interests in Share
19/02/10 - Statement re Operations Update
12/02/10 - Notice of Preliminary Earnings
01/02/10 - Directors Options Exercised
26/01/10 - Gulfsands Receives Approval to Develop Yousefieh Oil Field
26/01/10 - Holding(s) in Company

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