Exercise of Options

Not for release, publication or distribution in or into the United States or jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom and Bermuda where to do so would constitute a contravention of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction.

17 December 2013

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (AIM: GKP)

("Gulf Keystone" or "the Company")

Exercise of Options

The Company has been notified by a former employee on 12 December 2013 of the exercise of options under the Company's Unapproved Share Option Plan.

Consequently the Board has approved on 12 December 2013 the issue of 250,000 new common shares of US$0.01 each ("Option Shares") raising gross proceeds of £201,875 at an exercise price of 80.75 pence per share.

Following the issue of the Option Shares, the total issued share capital of Gulf Keystone and the total voting rights will be 888,933,057 common shares.

The above figure of 888,933,057 common shares may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, Gulf Keystone under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the Option Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. It is expected that admission of the Option Shares to AIM will become effective, and dealings in the Option Shares will commence on AIM, at 8.00 a.m. on 20 December 2013.

Enquiries:

or visit: http://www.gulfkeystone.com/ 

Notes to Editors:

§ Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (AIM: 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, including 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 Kalegran Ltd. (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, following the approval of the Shaikan Field Development Plan, announced on 26 June 2013.

Disclaimer

Not for release, publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom and Bermuda where to do so would constitute a contravention of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction. This announcement (and the information contained herein) does not contain or constitute an offer of securities for sale, or solicitation of an offer to purchase securities, in the United States or jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom and Bermuda where to do so would constitute a contravention of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless the securities are registered under the Securities Act, or an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act is available. No public offering of the securities will be made in the United States.