Gulfsand Petroleum, a British independent with major interests in Syria, says it has found further commercial oil deposits in Syria in line with expectations.
In a company statement, Gulfsands said “hydrocarbon columns and reservoir characteristics interpreted in the KHE 102 well are also seen as broadly confirming the Company’s initial estimates of total recoverable hydrocarbon volumes from the Butmah Formation of 19.2 million barrels oil equivalent.”
Shares in the company rose 4.5% on the news to 165 pence on the London Stock Exchange .
“The Butmah Formation flowed wet gas at an average rate of 10.7 million cubic feet of gas per day (“MMcfpd”) over a 5 hour period on a 32/64″ choke, with an associated hydrocarbon liquid rate of 524 barrels (“bbl”) per day of 58 degree API condensate. No formation water was produced,” the statement continued.
Gulfsands drilled seven exploration wells in 2011, four of which were oil discoveries, including Yousefieh East, Al Khairat and the Khurbet East Field Butmah Formation in Syria, and Sidi Dhaher in Tunisia. The company’s hydrocarbon reserves are currently being evaluated for all fields and results will be released in early April 2012.
The company had discontinued oil sales under international sanctions, and production has been hit by demands from the government to shut off the taps as the country’s reserve tanks reached capacity.
Exploration activities in Syria have continued, which Gulfsands says “are not restricted by the recent introduction of additional EU sanctions on oil production.
Gulfsands was forced to invoke force majeure against the state-owned General Petroleum Company of Syria after the letter was blacklisted under an ongoing EU sanctions regime. Disturbances to the company’s operations as a result of pressure against the country has seen Gulfsand’s share price tumble from 304 pence to 165 pence over the last year.
The Ba’athist regime of Bashar Assad is continuing its crackdown on civil unrest in the country, with opposition to the regime increasingly armed and organised.
