Gulfsands Petroleum Regulatory News (GPX)

15 Nov 2005 07:01

Gulfsands Petroleum PLC15 November 2005 15 November 2005 Gulfsands Petroleum PLC ("Gulfsands" or "the Group") Gulfsands Appoints John Bolsover as Non-Executive Chairman Gulfsands Petroleum PLC (symbol GPX), the AIM listed oil and gas exploration,development and production company with activities in the USA, Syria and Iraq,is pleased to report that the Company has appointed Mr. John Bolsover as a newnon-executive director and Chairman of the Board. Non-Executive Chairman Effective today, John Bolsover was appointed as non-executive Chairman of theBoard. Mr. Bolsover is a resident of the U.K. and brings a high level ofexperience from his career as CEO of Baring Asset Management Limited, from whichhe retired in June 2002 aged 55. This appointment will allow John Dorrier,Chief Executive Officer, to concentrate his efforts on developing the businessof the Company. John Bolsover was born and educated in the U.K. and obtained his economics andpolitical science degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Between1971 and 1985, he lived and worked in Hong Kong, specializing as a portfoliomanager of Japanese and other Asian equities. He established the business ofBaring Asset Management Limited in Asia and North America as its Chief Executivein 1975 and having returned to London in 1985, became Chief Executive of thecombined domestic and international businesses in 1989. John recently retiredas a director of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc and is currently thenon-executive Chairman of the Japan Opportunities Fund Limited, a real estatefund. Mr. Bolsover is also a director of Argus Fund SICAV, Gavekal AsianBalanced Fund, 40 Hyde Park Gate Management Limited and Silver Heritage Limited. During the last five years Mr. Bolsover also served as a director of AureoGestioni SGRpA, Baring Asset Management (Japan) Limited, Baring Asset ManagementHoldings Limited, Baring Asset Management Limited, Baring InternationalInvestment Limited, Barings (Guernsey) Limited, Japan Opportunities Fund 11Limited and Worldsport International Limited. There is no further information required to be disclosed in respect of the aboveappointment pursuant to schedule 2 rule (g) (i) to (viii) of the AIM rules forcompanies. John Dorrier, CEO of Gulfsands Petroleum, said: "The Company is very pleased to welcome John Bolsover to the Board. Hisexperience and counsel bring a new and valuable dimension to decision-making atthe Board level for the Company. " Enquiries:Gulfsands Petroleum (Houston) 001-713-626-9564David DeCort, Chief Financial Officer College Hill (London) 020-7457-2020Ben Brewerton / Nick Elwes Seymour Pierce (London) 020-7107-8000Richard RedmayneJonathan Wright Note to Editors • Gulf of Mexico, USA The Group has a 52.6% interest in Northstar Gulfsands LLC, which owns interestsin 39 producing oil and gas fields offshore Texas and Louisiana and operates 8of those fields. Northstar Gulfsands LLC has proved and probable reserves of58.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalents, consisting of 28.85 billioncubic feet of natural gas and 4.88 million barrels of oil as of 30 June 2005. • Syria In Syria, Gulfsands owns a 50% working interest in Block 26 and is the operator.The block covers 11,000 square kilometres and surrounds areas which currentlyproduce over 100,000 barrels of oil per day from existing fields. The Groupcommenced the acquisition of an extensive 2D seismic programme during August2005 and anticipates the drilling of the first well during the first half of2006. Gulfsands has identified 31 exploitation and exploration prospects andleads with mean resources potential exceeding 1 billion barrels of recoverableoil. • Iraq Gulfsands signed a Memorandum of Understanding in January 2005 with the Ministryof Oil in Iraq for the Misan Gas Project in Southern Iraq and is currentlynegotiating the definitive contract for the project. The project will gather,process and transmit natural gas that is currently a waste by-product of oilproduction in the region and will end the environmentally damaging practice ofgas flaring. Gulfsands has completed a feasibility study and expects to conductfurther technical work and commercial discussions with the Iraq Oil Ministry. • Onshore USA Gulfsands operates onshore in the USA through its 80% owned subsidiary companyDarcy Energy LLC. At the Emily Hawes field, initial gas production commenced inthe summer of 2005. The first well in the Barb Mag oil field has been drilledand wireline logged with some 38 feet of potential net pay and production testedat 1.5 million cubic feet of natural gas and 36 barrels of condensate per day.Production from this well should commence during the first quarter of 2006.Darcy Energy has a 34.375% and 37.5% working interest in these fieldsrespectively. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange