Kurdistan-focused explorer Gulf Keystone Petroleum has announced that it plans to sell a stake in its 2.4 billion barrel Akri-Bijeel block in the semi-autonomous region of Iraq.
“The Company has made a strategic decision to rationalize its asset portfolio and is to seek a buyer for its 20% interest in the Akri-Bijeel block,” Gulf Keystone reported yesterday. “This decision will facilitate an increased focus on the ambitious programme of appraisal and Extended Well Test production at Shaikan and the Shaikan pipeline project, as well as on the exploration and appraisal of Sheikh Adi and the drilling of the first exploration well on Ber Bahr.”
The statement partly confirms a recent story run by the London Sunday Times that the firm was courting buyers, which the company denied.
The firm has made large discoveries in Iraqi Kurdistan, but has not implemented a full drilling program, which will require significant capital investment. The company says it will use the sale proceeds to concentrate on production at its assets in the Shaikan field.
Having reported a loss after tax of $10.3 million for the six months of 2011 to 30 June, Todd Kozel, CEO, also said yesterday that he would seek to move the firm to the main list of the London Stock Exchange from the junior AIM. The comany has a current market capitalisation of $2.1 billion.
The news follows the Genel/Vallares deal that signals an imminent push for increased foreign investment and consolidation of Kurdistan’s diverse exploration and production sector, in which 41 companies currently operate.
