Gulf Keystone Petroleum Share Discussion Threads

[steephill cove] 23/5/2021 09:03

The 2 dividends & imminent share buyback are Perella Weinberg engineered defence tactics.

There is a Predator trying to dish the dirt on GKP, before the defence is voted through at the AGM & they are trying to swing votes against it happening.

This has all the footprints of a predator going hostile ;-)

[shortsqueezer] 23/5/2021 08:55

Seems like there's a last minute attempt going on to discredit the Company. I wonder why .....

[smallukdog] 23/5/2021 08:05

HTTPS://twitter.com/Paul47293202/status/1396354124791287808?s=19

[smallukdog] 23/5/2021 07:39

HTTPS ://twitter.com/Paul47293202/status/1396354124791287808?s=19

[eddie47] 23/5/2021 00:10

I wonder if this article has anything to do with Alex Panayides? Someone is being as scurrilous as the Court Case. I can't really see how this was a 'secret deal' if it was discussed with the KRG and it was agreed to be cancelled.

[iamthemoog] 22/5/2021 23:56

Where is Saint John G now?

[nestoframpers] 22/5/2021 22:52

Couple of the comments I like

Jim Watts
22 May 2021 8:20PM
The GKP story is worthy of some serious investigative journalism. The share price was the subject of a truly massive ‘pump and dump’ that made small fortunes for some and doubtless led to massive losses for others. The interactive investor share discussion pages were full of people claiming to have inside information on the true scale of the oil discovery and others who claimed to have the inside track on major investors. Was Kozel complicit in any of this? Who knows!



Flag
Frank Enstein
22 May 2021 7:21PM
"Todd Kozel could sense the opportunity as he arrived in Erbil for a visit in 2006."

Why are you making this up? How do you know he sensed anything? You may as well write a novel:

"Todd Kozel staggered off the airplane, his head throbbing from one bourbon too many and winced at the searing dry sun. It was going to be a hot day, but the lure of easy money drove him on..."

[nestoframpers] 22/5/2021 22:21

C&P on LSE .

[nestoframpers] 22/5/2021 22:20

I expect a very strong rebuff from John Harris Mon AM.

[nestoframpers] 22/5/2021 22:19

This makes it very clear that there is nothing to this hit piece.Mega fields attract loads of rats in suits.


According to testimony given in a dispute between GKP and Excalibur, Kozel’s company told the Kurdistan regional government “we have concluded that the above agreement may not be in compliance with Kurdistan law, in particular the petroleum legislation and the penal code which applies to the Kurdistan region of Iraq”. GKP declined to comment on what section of the penal code was referred to.

According to the judgment in that case, the Kurdistan regional government responded to the effect that “the KROGL [Kurdistan Region Oil and Gas Law] prohibited participation of any individual or organisation linked to government officials, political parties or influential individuals. That applied to Dabin in the light of Berwari’s links to the KDP.”

Dr Ashti Hawrami, the oil minister in Kurdistan is said to have indicated to Kozel as early as November 2007 that the Dabin agreement could not proceed and would be declared legally invalid.

[nestoframpers] 22/5/2021 22:13

It is highly irresponsible of the Journo to lead with this title as no where in the article is the statement back up with fact .

Kurdish oil giant in the spotlight as secret deal is revealed
Why did London-listed Gulf Keystone agree to transfer profits from Shaikan to a local politician?

By
Rachel Millard
22 May 2021 • 3:00pm

[nestoframpers] 22/5/2021 22:09

The Telegraph piece on LSE sounds like yet another scam to shift yet more PIs imo snippet



The SFO met with the whistle-blower in London in 2015, but have not publicly pursued the matter. Now there are calls for them to look again.
Accord ‘highly concerning’

A spokesman for Kozel said the Dabin agreement “never came to be”. He added: “It was presented to the Kurdistan regional government; they objected and it was never implemented … Once the Kurdistan regional government passed its law, our agreement with Dabin was voided by both parties.”

The spokesman added: “Dabin had nothing to do with GKP receiving the contract.”

[sbb1x] 22/5/2021 21:03

Say hello to Ana. The first storm.75$ oil coming people https://t.co/npXac0SkhL

[sbb1x] 22/5/2021 21:01

Bullish for oil.. 75$ coming boys and girlsU.S. GOVERNMENT FORECASTERS PREDICT ABOVE-NORMAL 2021 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SYSTEM

[vikingwarrier] 22/5/2021 20:46

Todd Kozel could sense the opportunity as he arrived in Erbil for a visit in 2006. Miles of unexplored territory lay waiting as Kurdistan opened up its oil industry in the post-Saddam era.

The affable American was chief executive of Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP), which would go on to discover and develop one of the region’s richest oilfields.

The opportunities would turn GKP into a favourite of retail investors and Kozel into a very wealthy man. He would earn $66m (£47m) during his final years at the top, helping to fund his sports car habit.

Investor concerns over Kozel’s remuneration and repeated governance controversies dogged GKP. But in 2014 it graduated from the rough-and-tumble of Aim to join the grown-ups on the main market. At the same time Kozel stepped down and GKP’s directors hoped a calmer atmosphere would prevail.

Yet seven years later Kozel, now 54, continues to cast a shadow over the company. This summer he faces a potential jail sentence in New York after pleading guilty to failing to file personal tax returns including on his earnings as GKP chief executive.

Now an investigation by The Sunday Telegraph and OCCRP investigative journalism group has uncovered a secret deal struck by Kozel in Kurdistan that has prompted renewed calls for a corruption investigation. GKP agreed to funnel a 10th of its profits from a crucial oilfield to a company controlled by a senior politician. Investors were not told and the oilfield, Shaikan, is today GKP’s main asset.
Todd Kozel (right) with Inga Kozel and Roberto Curran at the opening of the Robert Curran Gallery in Miami in 2014
Todd Kozel (right) with wife Inga Kozel and Roberto Curran at the opening of the Robert Curran Gallery in Miami in 2014 Credit: Getty
Dabin comes on board

“If you don’t like risk, get into bond trading,” Kozel once said. It was an approach that took him a long way in his career. His high-profile divorce before marrying Lithuanian model Inga Buividaite has laid bare many of his business dealings.

Set up by Kozel with investors including the Emirates’ Al-Qasimi ruling family, GKP joined Aim in 2004 and entered Iraqi Kurdistan in the mid to late 2000s, initially as part of an aborted potential tie-up with the US firm Excalibur.

In November 2007, GKP signed a 25-year deal with the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) to develop the Shaikan block – 109 square miles of risky, under-explored territory to the north of Erbil. Kozel declared himself “delighted” in an announcement to the stock exchange the next day.

The company did not tell investors that on the same day, he also signed a deal to pay 10pc of net profits from Shaikan to the Dabin Group, a development company led by Izzeddin Berwari, a retired member of the Kurdistan regional government and senior member of the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party).
The drilling platform at Akri-Bijeel in Shaikan, Iraq, produces 40,000-44,000 barrels of oil a day
The drilling platform at Akri-Bijeel in Shaikan, Iraq, produces 40,000-44,000 barrels of oil a day Credit: Sebastian Meyer/Corbis via Getty Images

The representation agreement (RA), seen by The Telegraph and OCCRP, was signed by Kozel on behalf of GKP International and Berwari as executive chairman of Dabin.

It covered payment for services including “general consulting and government relations services related to securing and managing the PSC [production sharing contract with the Kurdistan regional government],” as well as arranging meetings and introductions to political and financial organisations.

Nor were shareholders told when, less than three years later in March 2010, GKP wrote to Dabin to cancel the agreement after agreeing with the Kurdistan regional government that it might be illegal, according to court testimony. This was after oil was discovered at Shaikan in 2009 but before the oilfield started producing and therefore generating any revenue. New oil laws passed in August 2007 said public officials should not benefit from a production sharing contract.

According to testimony given in a dispute between GKP and Excalibur, Kozel’s company told the Kurdistan regional government “we have concluded that the above agreement may not be in compliance with Kurdistan law, in particular the petroleum legislation and the penal code which applies to the Kurdistan region of Iraq”. GKP declined to comment on what section of the penal code was referred to.

According to the judgment in that case, the Kurdistan regional government responded to the effect that “the KROGL [Kurdistan Region Oil and Gas Law] prohibited participation of any individual or organisation linked to government officials, political parties or influential individuals. That applied to Dabin in the light of Berwari’s links to the KDP.”

Dr Ashti Hawrami, the oil minister in Kurdistan is said to have indicated to Kozel as early as November 2007 that the Dabin agreement could not proceed and would be declared legally invalid.

An individual working in Iraq in 2015 contacted the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and, later, Wall Street regulators about the proposed agreement with Dabin Group, alleging that the agreement may amount to corruption and urging them to investigate.

The SFO met with the whistle-blower in London in 2015, but have not publicly pursued the matter. Now there are calls for them to look again.
Accord ‘highly concerning’

A spokesman for Kozel said the Dabin agreement “never came to be”. He added: “It was presented to the Kurdistan regional government; they objected and it was never implemented … Once the Kurdistan regional government passed its law, our agreement with Dabin was voided by both parties.”

The spokesman added: “Dabin had nothing to do with GKP receiving the contract.”

Ed Davey, investigator at anti-corruption group Global Witness, says: “The existence of a written agreement promising to pay a senior political official as part of an oilfield deal is highly concerning”.

“This arrangement should be fully investigated irrespective of whether or not any money actually changed hands. It beggars belief that the Serious Fraud Office would not fully investigate a UK-listed company in such circumstances.”

Neither the Kurdistan regional government nor Hawrami, were parties to or witnesses in the Excalibur litigation but the judge noted that Hawrami was a man whom it was agreed on all sides “to have detailed technical knowledge, to be a man of integrity and someone who would appreciate what was in the best interests of the Kurdistan regional government in considering bids and awarding contracts”.

Years after moving on from GKP, Kozel was arrested at JFK airport a week before Christmas 2018 and accused of hiding millions of dollars worth of assets in the Gokana Trust, which owned up to 6.5pc of GKP at various times, away from his ex-wife.

Charges of fraud and money-laundering, which he denied, have now been dropped and Kozel has instead pleaded guilty to charges of late filing of tax returns. His sentencing, likely to take place in August, has been delayed as he underwent treatment for throat cancer.

GKP, meanwhile, is under new management who are keen to distance themselves from the Kozel era. But the giant Shaikan oilfield that he secured, which has been producing since July 2013, is their only asset, producing 40,000-44,000 barrels a day.

A spokesman for GKP said that questions from The Telegraph and OCCRP relate to events that “predates the appointment of any of the current board or management team”.

He added: “The company is committed to the highest standards of corporate governance including ensuring we undertake appropriate due diligence and third party professional advice and has an appropriate share dealing code, disclosure and compliance procedures.”

A spokesman for Kozel said: “These claims from a decade ago have been investigated, litigated and adjudicated, with no findings of corruption, fraud or a failure to disclose.”

Berwari did not respond to a request for comment.

Hawrami made no comment.

[nestoframpers] 22/5/2021 17:40

I think that the point that is clear to see is that Capex will not go out as fast as payments come in even if GKP ever get to the 110 K/day FDP program. GKP is a sitting duck.

[bubblingup] 22/5/2021 16:34

Can you illustrate how it worked on a real case scenario?

[smallukdog] 22/5/2021 13:52

HTTPS://twitter.com/Paul47293202/status/1396072421426356230?s=19

[smallukdog] 22/5/2021 13:51

Owning 15% of the most undervalued, E and P on Earth doesn't require sweeteners.On takeover, what they and all LTH would like is a 20-30% share concentration just prior.Its the most obvious strategy Perella could use to maximise sale profits.

[bubblingup] 22/5/2021 13:18

Alternatively it is simply a sweetener to keep former note holders on board.

[smallukdog] 22/5/2021 12:33

Why pay off debt?We should have far higher debt! Can easily support it. We are the most de-leveraged E and P on LSE! They have a $200m UNUSED note facility..... why didn't they use it 4 years ago and now be at 75kbday?Because that was never the plan, aggressively growing production.So expect that cash facility to be used pay the bill a proxy who has been buying our stock for 3 years...A leveraged recapitalisation.:) Concentrating takeover profits hugely.

[bubblingup] 22/5/2021 10:40

We could pay off our debt too, wonder why we don't...