Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited (“Gulf Keystone” or the “Company”) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Company is registered in Bermuda with further offices in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Algiers, Algeria and London, UK. The Company was incorporated in 2001 in Bermuda and listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange in 2004 (stock quote GKP).

Gulf Keystone Petroleum International (GKPI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited, holds Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) for four exploration blocks in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.  In November 2007, the Company secured interests in the PSCs for the Shaikan and Akri-Bijeel blocks. In July 2009, the Company increased its significant acreage in the region with the addition of the PSCs for the Sheikh Adi and Ber Bahr blocks. Gulf Keystone is the Operator of the PSCs for the Shaikan and Sheikh Adi blocks.

In July 2009, the Company announced its intention to undertake a gradual strategic exit from Algeria. The Company’s focus is on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq where Gulf Keystone has made one of the most significant discoveries, holds one of the largest licence positions and has amongst the best pre-drill upside in its acreage.

CNN story on the oil and gas sector in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, including Gulf Keystone's Shaikan discovery to view please click here

To view Gulf Keystone corporate film please click here

Click here to view an Interview of Todd F Kozel, Gulf Keystone’s Executive Chairman and CEO with Squawk Box Europe, CNBC (31 August 2011) click here

Kurdistan, Iraq

Shaikan Block

The Shaikan block is situated about 85 km to the north-west of Erbil covering an area of 283 km². The Production Sharing Contract (“PSC”) for the Shaikan block was awarded in November 2007 to Gulf Keystone Petroleum International (Operator with the working interest of 75%), Kalegran Ltd. (100% subsidiary of MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Plc. with 20%) and Texas Keystone Inc. (5%)1.

The Kurdistan Regional Government has an option to nominate a third party interest of up to 15% in the Shaikan PSC and a further option to nominate a government interest of up to 20% following a commercial discovery.

On 27 April 2009 the Company spudded its first exploration well, Shaikan-1 and on 6 August 2009 it was announced that the Company had made a significant discovery. Following the successful appraisal of the Shaikan discovery, currently underway, a development plan will be prepared for submission to and approval by the authorities and partners.

In 2010, acquisition of 599 km² of 3D seismic data was completed over the Shaikan block with the data being processed in 2011.

Gulf Keystone announced the initial Shaikan gross oil-in-place volumes in January 2010 followed by a significant upward revision in April 2011.  Click here to access a summary of the Shaikan discovery gross oil-in-place volumes

Shaikan Exploration and Appraisal Programme

Shaikan-1 discovery well

The Shaikan discovery was announced on 6 August 2009 with the Shaikan-1 well achieving a total depth of 2,950 metres through multiple target horizons in Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic formations and discovering over 1,000 metres of oil column and over 200 metres of net pay. Following successful retesting of Shaikan-1 in July 2010, the well was completed as a first Jurassic producer.

Shaikan Extended Well Test (“EWT”) facilities were completed in September 2010 with test production from Shaikan-1 commencing during October 2010 with a net entitlement to oil sales of 54,201 barrels to March 2011. The Company awaits guidance from the Kurdistan Regional Government on further oil sales.

Shaikan-2 appraisal well

Shaikan-2 deep appraisal well spudded on 1 December 2010 with a successful well test completed in March 2011, indicating that rates of up to 10,000 barrels of oil per day (“bopd”) can be achieved. Shaikan-2 tested 26 degree API oil in the first Jurassic zone encountered at a stabilised rate of 8,064 bopd.

Shaikan-3 appraisal well

Shaikan-3 shallow appraisal well spudded on 2 September 2010 and was completed as a second Jurassic producer in January 2011. Successful acid treatment of the Shaikan-1 and Shaikan-3 wells in early 2011 indicates a combined production rate of up to 20,000 bopd.

Both Shaikan-1 and Shaikan-3 are tied to the EWT facilities, which are being upgraded to meet their greater well capability and increased storage requirements, and to process oil to export specification. In preparation for higher production volumes and long-term exports, the Company launched an engineering study on a pipeline route to the main Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil export line.

Shaikan-4 appraisal well

Shaikan-4 deep appraisal well spudded on 27 May 2011 using the Discoverer 4 rig. The well is targeted to drill to the top of the Permian to reach the planned total depth of approximately 3,760 meters.

Further appraisal wells

The location for the Shaikan-5 appraisal well has been completed while the Shaikan-6 and 7 appraisal wells are contingent.

Production

Shaikan Extended Well Test (“EWT”) facilities were completed in September 2010 with test production from Shaikan-1 commencing during October 2010 with a net entitlement to domestic oil sales of 54,201 barrels to March 2011. Both Shaikan-1 and Shaikan-3 are tied to the EWT facilities.

In May 2011, Gulf Keystone was requested by the Kurdistan Regional Government to prepare to export up to 5,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from the EWT facilities, following which the Company entered the commissioning phase of oil export operations. The commissioning phase, involving final preparations and customary checks and tests on all elements of the process, including loading and transportation logistics, as well as metering and receiving facilities, is underway in order to enable the Company to steadily ramp up export volumes to 5,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) with an eight month target of over 10,000 bopd.

Sheikh Adi block

The Sheikh Adi block covers an area of 180 km² and lies to the west and on trend with the Shaikan structure. The Production Sharing Contract (“PSC”) for the Sheikh Adi block was awarded in July 2009 to Gulf Keystone Petroleum International (Operator with the working interest of 80%) by the Kurdistan Regional Government which has a 20% carried interest in the Sheikh Adi PSC.

Gulf Keystone’s estimated oil-in-place resource potential for the Sheikh Adi structure is in excess of one billion barrels.

In line with the initial three year exploration phase, which commenced in July 2009, the Sheikh Adi-1 first exploration well was spudded on 4 August 2010. Sheikh Adi-1 is designed to drill through the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic formations to a planned total depth of approximately 3,850 meters.

In 2010, acquisition of 215 km² of 3D seismic data for the Sheikh Adi block commenced and was completed in early 2011 with the data now being processed.

Akri-Bijeel block

The Akri-Bijeel block is situated to the east of the Shaikan block and covers an area of 889 km². The Production Sharing Contract (“PSC”) for the Akri-Bijeel block was awarded in November 2007 to Kalegran Ltd. (Operator and a 100% subsidiary of MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Plc, with the working interest of 80%) and Gulf Keystone Petroleum International (20%).

The Kurdistan Regional Government has an option to nominate a third party interest of up to 20% in the Akri-Bijeel PSC and a further option to nominate a government interest of up to 20% following a commercial discovery.

In line with the initial three year exploration phase, the Bijell-1 first exploration well on the Akri-Bijeel block was spudded on 11 December 2009 and announced as a discovery on 9 March 2010. The Operator’s estimate for Bijell-1 petroleum-initially-in-place is 2.4 billion barrels (P50) in the Jurassic formations.

Bekhme-1 second exploration well on the Akri-Bijeel block, 20 km to the north-east from the Bijell-1 discovery, was spudded on 21 March 2011. Bekhme-1 is designed to target prospective intervals in the Jurassic and Triassic formations with a planned depth of approximately 3,000 meters.

Ber Bahr block

The Ber Bahr block covers an area of 280 km² and lies to the north-west and on trend with the Shaikan and the Sheikh Adi blocks. The Production Sharing Contract (“PSC”) for the Ber Bahr block was awarded to Genel Energy International Limited (Operator with the working interest of 40%) and Gulf Keystone Petroleum International (40%) by the Kurdistan Regional Government which has a 20% carried interest in the Ber Bahr PSC.

The Operator’s estimate for the Ber Bahr oil-in-place (unrisked prior to exploration drilling) is 1.9 billion barrels.

In line with the exploration phase, the Ber Bahr-1 first exploration well is scheduled to spud in late summer 2011. The Operator has selected a rig location and is in the process of procuring long lead items and constructing the rig pad.

Algeria

Gulf Keystone started operating in the Republic of Algeria in 2001 acquiring exploration and appraisal rights over six blocks and two producing fields totalling approximately 17,600 square kilometres.

In July 2009, the Company announced its intention to undertake a gradual strategic exit from Algeria in order to focus on the operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

In early 2010 Gulf Keystone relinquished Blocks 108 and 128b under the Ben Guecha Permit. In February 2010, an agreement was reached between Gulf Keystone and BG Group PLC, the Operator providing for the transfer of the Company’s interests in the Hassi Ba Hamou (HBH) Permit to the Operator. The agreement is awaiting approval by Sonatrach, Algeria's national oil company, and the Algerian government. Gulf Keystone is currently evaluating a number of options with regard to its interests in Block 126a (GKN and GKS oilfields under the Ferkane Permit).

Northern Algeria

Central Algeria

For futher information on Operations please click here 

Todd Kozel

Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Mr Kozel co-founded the Company where he serves as the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. In 1988 Mr Kozel founded Texas Keystone Inc., an independent oil and gas exploration, development and production company, headquartered in Pittsburgh, USA. Mr Kozel served as Texas Keystone’s President from 1995 to 2004 and has served as a director since 1988. Mr Kozel also co-founded Falcon Drilling Company LLC, an American independent drilling and oilfield services company, in 2001 and serves on its Board of Directors.

Ali A. Al-Qabandi

Business Development Director

Mr Al-Qabandi co-founded the Company where he has served as a director since 24 July 2007. He has held numerous executive positions and committee chairmanships for the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) which he joined in 1979. Most recently, Mr Al-Qabandi served as the Executive Assistant Managing Director of Planning and Finance for the KOC and a director of the Kuwait National Petroleum Company. Mr Al-Qabandi also served as Chairman of the Corporate Information Implementation Project, a board member of Kuwait Gulf Oil Company, a board member of United Oil Projects, Chairman of the KOC Profit Centre Committee and was a member of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, the Review of KOC Organisation Committee, the Cost Optimisation Steering Committee and Field Development Steering Committee.

John B. Gerstenlauer

Chief Operating Officer

Mr Gerstenlauer joined the Company from BASF's Wintershall Nederland Group, The Hague, where he was Managing Director. A US citizen, Mr Gerstenlauer holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Marine Biology, Civil Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Ocean Engineering. He has written numerous technical papers on Petrophysical topics and drilling techniques. Mr Gerstenlauer's oil & gas industry career began when he joined Shell Coastal Division, New Orleans, as a Petrophysical Engineer in 1979. Over subsequent years, he assumed increasingly senior production engineering and drilling engineering roles within various New Orleans-based Shell operating divisions including Coastal, Onshore and Offshore until joining Shell Oil subsidiary Pecten Cameroon Inc as Engineering Manager in 1985, where he was responsible for 50,000 bopd of operated offshore production, and a further 120,000 bopd of non-operated offshore production. Mr Gerstenlauer returned to Shell Offshore East and Coastal Divisions, New Orleans in 1989 as Production Superintendent before transferring to Shell Oil subsidiary Pecton do Brasil Ltd as Engineering Manager in 1990, and then in 1993 he was seconded to Canadian Occidental Yemen ("CanOxy Yemen") as Operations Manager. At CanOxy Yemen Mr Gerstenlauer managed the project from start-up to full production of 210,000 bopd. In 1996, Mr Gerstenlauer joined UMC Petroleum firstly as International Engineering Manager and then International Operations Manager focussed mainly on West African offshore projects. Following UMC's planned takeover by Ocean Energy in 1998, Mr Gerstenlauer joined Wintershall AG, Kassel, Germany as Project Manager then Consultant before becoming Managing Director of Wintershall Nederland Group, The Hague in 2003.

Ewen Ainsworth

Finance Director

Mr Ainsworth was appointed as Finance Director of Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. in January 2008. Mr. Ainsworth has over 20 years of experience in finance roles within the oil and gas industry. Prior to joining the Company, Mr Ainsworth was Finance Director of the London AIM-listed Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc. Mr Ainsworth has held increasingly senior finance positions within a number of oil and gas companies, including Conoco (U.K.) Ltd (London), Murco Petroleum Ltd (London), Texaco Ltd (London and Aberdeen) and CIECO Exploration & Production (UK) Ltd where he was responsible for all aspects of North Sea projects accounting and providing financial support for the Algeria and Azerbaijan operations. Mr. Ainsworth joined Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc in September 2004 where he provided support to the business across a wide brief, including preparation and submission of a successful licence application in Egypt, business development, compliance, legal and HR issues. A qualified accountant, Mr. Ainsworth gained ACMA accreditation in 1993. He has strong technical skills in managing public company finances and regulatory obligations as well as international transaction and funding experience.

Mehdi Varzi

Non-Executive Director

Mr Varzi was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. in January 2008. He graduated from the London School of Economics & Political Science with a Bachelor of Economics and holds an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University. Mr Varzi began his career with the National Iranian Oil Company before joining the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1982 Mr Varzi joined stockbrokers Grieveson Grant & Co. Over his time with Grieveson Grant & Co, which subsequently became Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Mr Varzi held a number of positions, culminating in the position of Managing Director, Oil & Gas Research. In 2001, Mr Varzi established an independent global energy consultancy, Varzi Energy, which advises a number of leading international financial institutions on global oil and gas developments. Over the past 10 years, Mr Varzi has served as a Member of the International Advisory Panel of Nippon Oil, Non-Executive Director of Sonoran Energy, Director of Global Macro Energy Research and Middle Eastern Affairs at Trinity Funds and adviser to the chairman of Turcas Petrol. He is a regular speaker at international energy conferences.

Lord Truscott

Non-Executive Director

Lord Truscott of St James's was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. in May 2008. Lord Truscott was appointed as a member of the House of Lords in 2004. Between 2006 and 2007, he was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy at the Department of Trade and Industry ("DTI") and the DTI Government Spokesperson in the House of Lords. He represented Hertfordshire in the European Parliament from 1994 to 1999. Lord Truscott is currently Parliamentary British Council Ambassador, Russian Federation and republics of the former Soviet Union ("FSU"). He has extensive contacts in Russia and the FSU, and is widely regarded as a world expert and author on the region. He was until recently a member of the House of Lords European Union Select Committee, Sub Committee C (Foreign Affairs, Defence and Development Policy). Following his doctorate from Oxford University, he has written extensively on foreign, energy and security policy, including a Royal United Services Institute report on political risk management in the energy and defence sectors. He has participated in an Industry and Parliament Trust placement including with ConocoPhillips and KPMG, to assess different commercial approaches to risk management. He was subsequently elected a Fellow of the Industry and Parliament Trust. He was visiting Research Fellow with the Institute for Public Policy Research from 1999 to 2000 and is currently an Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies

Lord Guthrie

Non-Executive Director

General the Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, GCB LVO OBE DL, was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. in October 2011. Lord Charles Ronald Llewelyn Guthrie served in the British Army from 1957 to 2001. From 1997 to 2001 he was Chief of the Defence Staff and the Principal Military Adviser to two Prime Ministers and three Secretaries of State for Defence. He was, for ten years, Colonel Commandant of the Intelligence Corps and is currently Colonel of The Life Guards, Gold Stick to The Queen and was Colonel Commandant of the SAS from 2001 to 2010. He was Director of NM Rothschild & Sons Limited from 2001 to 2011 and is currently a Director of Sciens Capital (US), Colt Defense (US), Petropavlosk plc. He is a Council Member of The International Institute of Strategic Studies; a Visiting Professor and Honorary Fellow of King's College London University and Chairman of the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. He is President of The Army Benevolent Fund; Action Research; Federation of London Youth Clubs and a Governor of The Charterhouse, Clerkenwell. He is a Board Member of the Moscow School of Political Studies.

Mark Hanson

Non-Executive Director

Mark Anthony Crump Hanson was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. in November 2011. He is a qualified barrister and solicitor and was Chief Executive Officer of Global Banking Corporation in Bahrain from 2006 to 2008. Mr Hanson has extensive regulatory and corporate governance experience having served as a director on several boards and having advised a number of clients in the Middle and Far East during his 34 year career. His previous experience includes the listing in Hong Kong and New York of Shanghai Petrochemical Company, the first mainland upstream Chinese oil company to list outside of the People’s Republic of China, and oil and gas projects in Saudi Arabia. Mr Hanson served as Chief Executive of Bain Securities Limited, Managing Director of Peregrine Capital Limited, Deputy CEO at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and COO of Crosby Financial Holdings. In addition, he was responsible for the establishment of ABN AMRO’s investment banking and equity capital market operations in Saudi Arabia.

Tony Peart

Legal and Commercial Director

Tony Peart joined the Company in 2008 and has over 29 years of legal, commercial and management experience in the oil and gas industry. From 2006 to 2008 he was Legal and Commercial Director of African Arabian Petroleum Limited, an Emirati-owned oil company holding exploration and production interests in North and West Africa. From 2000 to 2005 he was Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Petrokazakhstan Inc. which was acquired by the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). He was previously Managing Director of Bula Resources plc and MMS Petroleum plc and has held senior management positions at Lasmo plc, Ultramar Exploration Limited and Veba Oil and Gas Limited. He is an Attorney, holds a Masters degree in General Management from the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School and has completed the Programme for Management Development at the Harvard Business School.

Chris Garrett

Vice President Operations

Mr Garrett joined the Company in 2004 as Managing Director of the UK entity and Operations Manager for Algeria. Mr Garrett’s background is in geology and geophysics. He spent 12 years overseas working in the USA and the Middle East. He brings to the Company over 29 years of oilfield experience gained with Core Laboratories and Western Geophysical and latterly with Baker Hughes and Randall & Dewey where he assumed a number of roles ranging from international exploration and operations management through to property and prospect evaluation.

Adnan Samarrai

Country Manager - Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Mr. Samarrai holds a BSc degree in geology and has been an active member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists since 1972. He has over 45 years of experience in the oil and gas industry in Iraq including wide experience in petroleum geology and drilling technology. He joined the Iraq Petroleum Co. (IPC) in the early 1960s before joining the Iraq National Oil Company (“INOC”) in 1972 where he held the position of Chief Exploration Geologist until his retirement in 1998. Since his retirement from INOC Mr Samarrai has worked as Consulting Geologist to both BG International and Exploration Consultant Ltd (ECL) before joining Gulf Keystone firstly as a consultant and subsequently as the Country Manager for Kurdistan, Iraq in November 2006.

Mohamed Messaoudi

Country Manager - Algeria

Mr Messaoudi is a petroleum geologist with 27 years of experience in the oil and gas industry in Algeria. Mr Messaoudi joined Sonatrach, the Algerian National Oil Enterprise in 1979, becoming Chief Geologist for the Hassi Messaoud Basin in 1996 and then the Regional Exploration Manager of the North Algeria Area / Onshore and Offshore Basins. Prior to Mr Messaoudi’s retirement from Sonatrach, he held the position of Regional Exploration Manager for the South East Algeria Region, Algeria’s most important hydrocarbon area containing the Hassi Messaoud, Berkine, Illizi and Oued Mya basins.

Updated from company website 15/12/2011