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British exploration and production company Gulf Keystone Petroleum has announced that it has been awarded “significant” interests in two production sharing contracts (PSCs) by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
The contracts cover the exploration, development and production of hydrocarbon resources in the Sheikh Adi and Ber Bahr blocks in Iraqi Kurdistan. Gulf Keystone’s investment partner in the region is the Middle Eastern investment vehicle ETAMIC.
“I am delighted that Gulf Keystone has been able to gain further exposure to Kurdistan, one of the few remaining highly prospective hydrocarbon regions in the world,” Todd Kozel, executive chairman of Gulf Keystone said.
“Our close relationship with the KRG, the fast pace of exploration programmes on our existing blocks and the support of our new strategic investment partner, ETAMIC, were all key factors in our being awarded these new PSCs,” he added.
Gulf Keystone said its technical team anticipates that the potential combined prospective resources of both blocks will be in excess of a billion barrels of oil in place. The company will also be working towards an accelerated drilling programme with a possible well spud in 2010.
These two new PSCs are in addition to GKPI’s existing PSCs, Shaikan (75% interest, operated by Gulf Keystone and on which exploration well Shaikan-1 is currently drilling) and Akri Bijeel (20% interest, operated by MOL).
