Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. Shaikan Operational Update (7820H)

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RNS Number : 7820H

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd.

18 March 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.

18 March 2015

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (LSE: GKP)

("Gulf Keystone" or "the Company")

Shaikan Operational Update

Gulf Keystone, the operator of the world class Shaikan field in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, today announces that it has resumed production and truck loading operations at both its production facilities (PF-1 and -2), in line with the pre-payment of US$ 26 million gross (US$20.8 million net to Gulf Keystone) received for future Shaikan crude oil sales on 25 February. Gulf Keystone will now ramp up production to levels consistent with the installed capacity of 40,000 barrels of oil per day. The Company anticipates that a further payment of a similar nature will be received, which is expected to stabilise a payment cycle for current and future Shaikan production.

Shaikan-10, the Company's first development well and ninth producer, has demonstrated excellent productivity from the limited flow data gained to date. Drilled from the same surface location as Shaikan-10, but 2km away subsurface, Shaikan-11, an additional production well has now been completed. Shaikan-11, which will provide PF-2 with additional production capacity, was drilled nine days ahead of time and under budget. The losses observed during drilling point to Shaikan-11 being a potentially prolific producer. Furthermore, Shaikan-8 is now fully connected and able to produce into PF-1.

Commenting on today's news, John Gerstenlauer, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Keystone, said:

"We are pleased to have resumed production and truck loading operations at Shaikan. Over recent weeks we have maintained a flexible and prudent approach, ensuring that we can maximise revenues from Shaikan. We remain confident of a regular payment cycle for Shaikan crude being established in the near term.

"From an operational perspective, Shaikan is performing well and we are encouraged by the initial results from Shaikan-10 and the recently completed Shaikan-11 well."

Enquiries:

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