Gulfsands Petroleum Regulatory News (GPX)

18 May 2007 07:00

Gulfsands Petroleum PLC18 May 2007 Khurbet East - 1 Well at total depth Production testing of Triassic reservoirs to commence Khurbet East - 2 Appraisal Well to spud in June London, 18th May, 2007: Gulfsands Petroleum plc (AIM: GPX), the oil and gasproduction, exploration and development company with activities in the U.S.A.,Syria and Iraq is pleased to announce that the Khurbet East ("KHE-1")exploration well in Syria Block 26, which commenced drilling in mid February,has reached total depth on schedule. Gulfsands is operator and owner of a 50%interest in Block 26. Triassic Reservoirs The KHE-1 well has reached a total drilling depth of 3,800 metres and electricwireline logs have been acquired. The Company has identified several zones ofinterest within the Triassic aged reservoirs below 2,800 metres depth.Production testing of these zones is expected to commence shortly. A furtherupdate will be provided once testing has been completed and the resultsevaluated. Tertiary and Cretaceous Reservoirs On 28th March 2007 the Company provided an update on drilling the TertiaryChilou (approximately 1,319 metres depth) and Cretaceous Massive Formation(approximately 1,917 metres depth) in the KHE-1, where wireline logs indicatednet oil pay within those formations totaling 48.9 metres. In addition, wirelinepressure testing recorded an oil gradient in the Massive and an oil sample wasobtained in the Massive with an initial estimated API gravity of 21 degrees atsurface conditions. Khurbet East 2 Appraisal Well The Company will drill an appraisal well Khurbet East (KHE-2), to evaluate theTertiary Chilou and Cretaceous Massive reservoirs within a well-bore designedspecifically for those reservoirs. The KHE-2 well will also provide additionalinformation on the continuity and lateral extent of the reservoirs. The Company has extended the contract for the Crosco 602 rig, currently drillingKHE-1, to enable the new well to spud immediately following completion ofoperations on KHE-1. This is currently anticipated to occur in early June. NB: This release has been approved by Jason Oden, Gulfsands Exploration Manager,who has a Bachelor of Science degree in Geophysics with 22 years of experiencein petroleum exploration and management and is registered as a ProfessionalGeophysicist. Mr. Oden has consented to the inclusion of the material in theform and context in which it appears. ABOUT GULFSANDS: Gulf of Mexico, USA The Company owns interests in 54 offshore blocks comprising approximately193,000 gross acres which includes numerous producing oil and gas fieldsoffshore Texas and Louisiana with proved and probable recoverable reserves netto Gulfsands at 31 December 2006 of 41.5 BCFGE (6.9 MMBOE), consisting of 27.3BCFG and 2.36 MMBO. Onshore USA Gulfsands owns interests in two oil and gas fields onshore Texas, USA (98.5%working interest in Emily Hawes Field and 37.5% working interest in Barb MagField) with proved and probable recoverable reserves net to Gulfsands at 31December 2006 of 3.1 BCFGE (0.5 MMBOE), consisting of 2.8 BCFG and 57,000barrels of oil. Syria Gulfsands owns a 50% working interest and is operator of Block 26 in North EastSyria. Block 26 covers 11,000 square kilometres and encompasses existing fieldswhich currently produce over 100,000 barrels of oil per day. These fields areoperated by third parties including the Syria Petroleum Company. 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 followingcompletion of a feasibility study on the project is negotiating details ofdefinitive contracts for this regionally important development. The project willgather process and transmit natural gas that is currently a waste by-product ofoil production and as a result of the present practice of gas flaring,contributes to significant environmental damage in the region. Certain statements included herein constitute "forward-looking statements"within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. These forward-lookingstatements are based on certain assumptions made by Gulfsands and as such arenot a guarantee of future performance. Actual results could differ materiallyfrom those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements due tofactors such as general economic and market conditions, increased costs ofproduction or a decline in oil and gas prices. Gulfsands is under no obligationto update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of newinformation, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws. For further information including the Company's recent investor presentation,please refer to the Company's website www.gulfsands.net or contact: Gulfsands Petroleum (Houston) + 1-713-626-9564John Dorrier, Chief Executive OfficerDavid DeCort, Chief Financial Officer Gulfsands Petroleum (London) 020-7182-4016Kenneth Judge, Director of Corporate Development 07733-001-002 College Hill (London) 020-7457-2020Nick ElwesPaddy Blewer Teather & Greenwood (London) 020-7426-9000James Maxwell (Corporate Finance)Tanya Clarke (Specialist Sales) This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange