http://www.gulfkeystone.com/ The firms exploration programme in Algeria is going well and "the shares look good value", say the Investors Chronicle. Your comments please. goal.

http://www.directorstalk.com/broker-wh-ireland-talk-gulf-keystone-this-morning-and-vatukoula-gold/

Gulf Keystone~ (GKP) – Litigation Update

Market Cap £1.7bn Price 201p Target 315p

- Gulf Keystone’s have provided the market with an update regarding the litigation case with Excalibur Ventures. A final resolution of the case is not anticipated until May/June 2013 although Excalibur has been ordered to pay £8m in court costs within 3 weeks.

- We view the court case as something of an anchor to the current share price, given the ongoing uncertainty that this is creating, however we believe that operationally the company is sound with Shaikan development on track to reach 30-40kbpd, further exploration/appraisal opportunities at Sheikh-Adi,, Ber Nahr, and Akri Bijeel where 3D seismic is being shot as well as Shaikan-7 (deep). The fact that competitors like Genel (N/R) are now exporting successfully via Turkey shows that a route to market is now open.

- We maintain our BUY recommendation, and see strong catalysts post the Excalibur case being resolved in the form of M&A as well as continued positive operational updates providing further proof of the greater potential of Shaikan.

February 18, 2013 9:15 pm

Gulf Keystone trial enters final stages

By Michael Kavanagh

The corporate vehicle of Rex Wempen, the former US Green Beret, has been ordered to pay a further £8m into court as he continues to seek up to $1.62bn in compensation and damages from Gulf Keystone Petroleum, the Aim-quoted explorer.
The order for Excalibur Ventures to pay £4.7m as additional security for the costs of Gulf Keystone and another £3.3m for its sister company and co-defendant Texas Keystone comes as the trial at the English Commercial Court approaches its final stages.

Gulf Keystone claims Wempen misled group

Gulf Keystone chief ‘unreliable’, court told

Gulf Keystone defends share of Kurd assets

Gulf Keystone allays finance fears

In a case that has run since October in London’s High Court, Gulf Keystone, led by executive chairman Todd Kozel, has vigorously contested claims by Mr Wempen and his brother Eric that they were unfairly cut out of deals to acquire blocks in Kurdistan.
The trial had originally been expected to finish by Christmas with a judgment given in the first few weeks of this year.

But detailed interrogation of complex technical evidence and extended legal argument marshalled by large teams of advisers on both sides have caused proceedings to continue for longer than expected.

On Monday, Gulf Keystone said it expected the trial to end by early March. But it added that the company, one of Aim’s most traded retail stocks, faced a wait until June or beyond for a written judgment.

The company is defending itself from claims alongside Texas Keystone, which originally struck a collaboration deal with Excalibur in 2006, that its estranged advisers are owed a 30 per cent interest in blocks in northern Iraq that Excalibur has argued could be worth nearly $6bn.

The defendants argue that the Wempen brothers’ company was excluded from participating in production-sharing agreements by the Kurdistan Regional Government because of its oil ministry’s concerns about Excalibur’s technical capacity to develop the field. They also argue Excalibur exaggerated its ability to fund the project.
The legitimacy of licence deals granted by the KRG also continues to be disputed by Iraq’s federal government.

The order to make payments into court within 21 days follows a similar direction by the English Commercial Court in March that Excalibur should pay £6m as security towards Gulf Keystone’s costs and £3.5m towards Texas Keystone ahead of the trial.

The company is being represented by Clifford Chance in a legal action that has been backed by US litigation financiers Blackrobe, US hedge fund Hamilton and Psari, a vehicle for private investors based in the Cayman Islands. All stand to gain substantially if Excalibur wins its case.

Analysts view a resolution of litigation launched against Gulf Keystone in 2010 as necessary for it emerge as a takeover target for oil majors willing to invest in Kurdistan.
Shares in Gulf Keystone rose 3p to 203p on Monday.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/564a82e8-79eb-11e2-9dad-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2LHvU4bl3

http://www.krg.org/a/d.aspx?l=12&a=46688&utm_source=KRG&utm_medium=KRG.org

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/19/us-turkey-kurds-idUSBRE91I0GV20130219

UPDATE 1-Kurdistan chief says Gazprom Neft signs new oil deal-Ifax
Tue Feb 19, 2013 3:42pm GMT

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/02/19....N0BJD1120130219


* Baghdad angry over Kurdistan deals with foreign companies

* Gazprom Neft has contracts both with Kurdistan and central government (Adds detail, quote)

Feb 19 (Reuters) - The president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was quoted on Tuesday as saying that the autonomous region of Iraq had signed new agreements in recent days with Russia's fifth-largest oil producer, Gazprom Neft.

The deals may increase friction between KRG and Baghdad, which insists that only it has the authority to grant oil contacts and control crude exports in the country.

"We are satisfied with Gazprom Neft's work in the region. New agreements have been reached with this Russian company in recent days," Masoud Barzani was quoted as saying by news agency Interfax, which didn't report any details.
UPDATE 1-Kurdistan chief says Gazprom Neft signs new oil deal-Ifax



A spokesman for Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of world's top oil company, Gazprom, declined to comment.

Gazprom Neft acquired interests in two Kurdistan blocks last August. That followed moves by international oil firms to develop fields in the autonomous region that angered the central Iraqi government in Baghdad.

The Russian company also has a contract for the Badra oilfield, controlled by the government.

Industry insiders have said that Kurdistan offers more lucrative conditions - under production sharing agreements - than the central government. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin. Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)

http://gkpinvestor.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=articles&action=display&thread=1834#ixzz2LMRP4cf1

http://www.investegate.co.uk/gulf-keystone-petrol-%28gkp%29/rns/new-discovery-in-the-kurdistan-region-of-iraq/201302200703012456Y/





20 February 2013



Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (AIM: GKP)

("Gulf Keystone" or "the Company")



New Discovery in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq



Gulf Keystone notes today's update by MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Plc., the operator of the Akri-Bijeel Block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (in which Gulf Keystone has a 20 per cent working interest), on its extensive exploration and appraisal programme.



Bakrman-1 Exploration Well Discovery



Bakrman-1, the first exploration well to target the Bakrman structure on the Akri-Bijeel Block, has made a new Triassic discovery. This is the second discovery on the block following the Bijell discovery made in 2010.



Bakrman-1 spudded in May 2012, 32 km to the north-west of the Bijell-1 discovery well. The well was drilled to a total depth of 4,100 metres in the Kurra Chine B formation in the Triassic, following which a well testing programme commenced, targeting reservoir zones in the Jurassic and Triassic. Two open hole tests and three cased hole tests have been performed to date. According to the operator, the second open hole well test performed at 3,930-4,100 metres MD (measured depth) in the Kurra Chine B formation in the Triassic resulted in calculated daily flow rates of approximately 2,616 barrels of light (32 to 35 degrees API gravity) oil per day and a gas rate of approximately 5.86 million standard cubic feet per day. The well testing programme is ongoing and is expected to be completed in April 2013.



Gulak-1 Exploration Well



Gulak-1, the fourth exploration well to be drilled on the Akri-Bijeel block and the first exploration well to target the Gulak anticline, spudded in July 2012 and has been drilled 21 km to the east from the Bijell-1 discovery well and 5 km to the south from the Bekhme-1 exploration well to a total depth of 3,641 metres in the Kurra Chine B formation in the Triassic. The well test programme, consisting of five tests, has now been completed. In the course of the DST#4 performed at 2,385-2,420 metres MD in the Sargelu and Naokelekan formations in the Jurassic, minor inflows of between 22-30 degrees API oil were encountered. Following the completion of the DST#5, it is proposed that the well will be suspended.



Bijell Appraisal Programme



Bijell-3, the first well to appraise the Bijell discovery, spudded in January 2012. It has been drilled 8km to the north-west of the Bijell-1 discovery well and 26 km to the west-northwest of the Bekhme-1 exploration well to a total depth of 4,980 metres in the Sarki formation in the Lower Jurassic. Following no commercial inflow of hydrocarbons being encountered during the course of a well testing programmeconsisting of seven tests, it is proposed that the well will be abandoned. However, the extensive appraisal programme of the Bijell discovery continues with Bijell-7, which spudded in December 2012 10 km to the south-south-east from the Bijell-1 discovery well, and four further appraisal wells. Bijell-2 and Bijell-5 are scheduled to spud in Q1 2013 and Bijell-4 and Bijell-6 are planned for Q3 2013.



Bijell Extended Well Test



Construction and commissioning of an Extended Well Test facility ("EWT") for the Bijell discovery is ongoing. The Bijell EWT facility, of a total gross capacity of 10,000 barrels of oil per day and a storage capacity of 30,000 barrels, is scheduled to be completed in February 2013. The facility will be tied to the Bijell-1 discovery well, which will be completed as a producer once a work-over rig has arrived in late February 2013 with first test production expected in May 2013.



In addition, the acquisition of 490 km² of 3D seismic data, which commenced in 2012, is continuing.

Shaikan Block

In addition, Gulf Keystone is pleased to provide an update on its ongoing operations on the Shaikan Block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Shaikan Production Facility (PF-1)



All equipment modules have now been delivered from Calgary, Canada through the port of Mirsin in Turkey and assembly work on the first Shaikan production facility (PF-1) is nearing completion. Despite prolonged cold and snowy weather conditions and delays in the shipping schedule, Shaikan PF-1 will become operational in March 2013. It will be tied to the Shaikan-1, -3 and -4 producing wells and is designed to produce 20,000 barrels of oil per day, processing the crude to export specification. Shaikan PF-1 will be followed by PF-2, also designed to produce 20,000 barrels of oil per day, in mid-2013. Shaikan PF-2 will be tied to the Shaikan-2 and -5 producing wells, as well as Shaikan-10. The Company plans to spud Shaikan-10, the first development well, and Shaikan-7, the first deep exploration well, targeting the mid to lower Triassic and, potentially, Permian horizons, by the end of Q1 2013. Shaikan-10 will be drilled with the Weatherford 842 rig and Shaikan-7 with the Weatherford 319 rig.



John Gerstenlauer, Gulf Keystone's Chief Operating Officer commented:



"The second discovery on the Akri-Bijeel block marks the beginning of an exciting year for Gulf Keystone. We look forward to joining the ranks of key producers in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2013. In addition to drilling a number of development wells on Shaikan, as well as our first deep exploration well, we anticipate further positive results of the extensive exploration, appraisal and early production programme on the Akri-Bijeel block. We will also focus on appraising the Sheikh Adi discovery, taking into account clear future synergies with Shaikan in terms of production facilities, infrastructure and logistics."

Good news on the production side,Shaikan with 20,000 bopd of export quality oil available next month and a further 20,000 bopd mid year.



John Gerstenlauer, Gulf Keystone's Chief Operating Officer commented:



"The second discovery on the Akri-Bijeel block marks the beginning of an exciting year for Gulf Keystone. We look forward to joining the ranks of key producers in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2013. In addition to drilling a number of development wells on Shaikan, as well as our first deep exploration well, we anticipate further positive results of the extensive exploration, appraisal and early production programme on the Akri-Bijeel block. We will also focus on appraising the Sheikh Adi discovery, taking into account clear future synergies with Shaikan in terms of production facilities, infrastructure and logistics."

It seems the SH-7 well is soon to be spudded,testing the Permian section. This long awaited drill (if successful),could increase the field size quite considerably,it is expected that at the depths required,oil would be a lot lighter?

Daily Oil & Gas Monitor

Gulf Keystone (LON:GKP) – More Oil Discovered, But it’s not the Value Driver: Today’s announcement that the Company has intersected oil at the Bakrman-1 exploration well is positive but reserves are not what is driving the share price at the moment. While the size hasn’t been disclosed, we believe this to be a target in excess of 150mm bbl, so more than big enough to be a standalone development. If it is developed, it will most likely be developed in conjunction with either the Shaikan or Bijeel fields.
The issues here are not of finding oil, as the shares are already under-valued for the existing discoveries, but: (i) getting access to the exports to attain the full value of the assets, where sales are executed at international prices and the demand is a deep enough market to sell the production in to (we estimate local demand is ~200m bpd); and more importantly (ii) resolving the outstanding court case.
We have risk weighted (using simple probability and EMV type analysis) what we think is the impact of a judgement against GKP, the back costs that will have to be paid by Excalibur will partially offset the “loss” in value that might arise from having to assign a percentage of its interest; a fact which will become more positive if there are further delays in the full development at export prices. We are still risking Shaikan (we estimate that the Shaikan project alone with exports is worth in excess of 500p a share), which means that sharing the burden of risk capital will have a positive impact on the valuation.
Given the amounts that have been spent, the fact that you give up risked future value for cash in the bank, we believe that the risk adjusted value remains well above the current share price at 315p, even though the overall value of the project net to GKP would decline. On this basis, the current share price is not a fair reflection of the state of the current asset portfolio, nor a reflection of the risk weighted impact of an adverse judgement in the current court case.

Just came across this concerning the drill rig 319.


The Weatherford 319 rig is a heavy duty rig with 3000 HP, and a 15,000 psi BOP. Can drill up 25,000 ft. Maximum circulating standpipe pressure is 7,500 psi but the pop-offs on the mud pumps will be set a bit lower...

www.dukbrochure.co.uk

This should give you brochure,pruces and info,i believe theirs also a video of the FT cassette system,which is what i enquired about.

Looks like the basic package is around £5k with all the accessories upto £10k.Myunderstanding is that their are some excellent grants available and the Welsh Bowls will help in this area?

The brochure came this morning so i'll bring it along to the next meeting.

regards

brian

BBBS has popped in on iii:

Hello MARKETCHASER, regarding "if you're out there and I suspect you are, do you fancy giving us your interpretation of todays RNS", my flippant answer would be 'put GKP on ignore' - and 'read the MOL Operational Update':
http://ir.mol.hu/en/operational-update-kurdistan-region-iraq-%E2%80%93-oil-discovery-bakrman-well-akri-bijeel-block/

How times have changed! Three and a half years ago we were all accusing MOL of being 'the silent one' who seemed quite happy to put the occasional boot into little old GKP (remember the Shaikan-1 sidetrack 'issue' and their down-playing of Shaikan significance?). Today's RNS from GKP is an abysmal precis of the MOL update - several significants pieces of information are omitted, and I would even go as far as to say that the current and future testing plans on Bakrman-1 (the discovery well) have been mis-represented. IMO.

The most glaring omissions by GKP are discussed further below:


Bakrman-1:

- GKP only specified results for the Second Open Hole test, and even there they could not be bothered to give a rough translation on the gas flow rate (I believe some posters have already queried this aspect). The answer is found in the MOL Update: "the Second Open Hole test of Bakrman exploration well resulted 2,616 bbl oil and 5.86 MMscfd (1,070 boepd) gas inflows." There you go - 5.86 MMscfd translates to 1,070 boepd.

- GKP totally ignored the information provided by MOL concerning the First Open Hole test: "First Open Hole test was done in interval 3,811-3,932 m MD (measured depth) Kurra Chine A and B zones where total mud loss took place during drilling. The test produced 1464 bbl/d water with N2 lifting". This First Open Hole test was conducted ABOVE the Second Open Hole test - over an interval that comprised both Kurre China A and B (as opposed to just the Kurre Chine B for the Second test). It seems very strange that the deeper Second test recovered oil and gas - with no water - in the Kurre Chine B, when the First test produced just water over an interval that also included the Kurre Chine B. Actually, it's not very strange at all, the key words being "where total mud loss took place during drilling" - the produced water is most likely none other than the fluids that were lost during drilling. IMO. Holders of Shamaran will know that this would not be the first time that 'water tests' can be deceptive in a fractured mud loss setting (compare results from Atrush-1 and Atrush-2). I would imagine that MOL will be evaluating these results further.

- GKP's RNS is mis-leading with regard to the fact that many more well tests are yet to be made at Bakrman. GKP merely states "The well testing programme is ongoing and is expected to be completed in April 2013". Whereas the MOL Update is quite specific with "Five further tests (one is optional) are planned in the well and the program is ongoing till April 2013". A massive difference (IMO). They are now performing Cased Hole tests, so these will be 'bottom-to-top' in the well. Consequently, the three unsuccessful Cased Hole tests to date (MOL: "Three Cased Hole DST have been perforated till now. There was no oil inflow some traces of gas and H2S were experienced.") would have been in the Lower Jurassic - most likely Butmah Formation - which is known to be less productive than the Upper Jurassic (refer Shaikan, Atrush etc). The main point being that there are still FIVE MORE TESTS TO GO - and at least some of these will be over Formations that are known to exhibit better flow properties in adjacent properties.


Bijell-3 (Aqra-1):

- The well title used by MOL (as above) as opposed to simply 'Bijell-3' by GKP already says a lot. The well location is some way from the original Bijell-1 discovery well; indeed it sits on the side of the Aqra anticline. GKP also omit a very pertinent remark that is stated twice within the MOL Update: "Bijell-3 appraisal well, which was the riskiest from a geological point of view in the planned appraisal program, moreover, it is the farthest one from the Bijell-1 discovery". I despair when posters like Hub just take the GKP RNS and then immediately write-off the entire Bijeel discovery as 'pants'. It would appear that even Zengas only read the GKP precis and not the source MOL document.


In conclusion with regard to GKP's Akri Bijeel Update, they are clearly disinterested in 'current values' - there is still much more testing to do on Bakrman alone before the full extent of this latest discovery is known. And much more information will also be known on the true extent of the Bijell structure - 'soon' - at least within 2013 with four more wells going down. What was that previous carp about bringing in PW to sell AB about Todd? AB is far too valuable - to the buyer of GKP .... IMO.


As for GKP's belated update on Shaikan activities? Yes, more of the same minimalist carp. IMO. Would it be so hard to say why SH-6 was dropped and SH-10 added for PF2? Why do PI's have to guess - that perhaps SH-6 was drilled too far down on the flank (in order to try and define OWC's that so far only Joseki has told us about) and is consequently unsuitable for a Production well that should ideally initially withdraw reservoir fluids from the top part of the structure? When are we going to get test results from SH-5? When are we going to get test - and OWC - results from SH-6? I guess we will just have to rely on Joseki's report on what the Institutions were told on 28th May 2012 - you know, that post which was deleted by iii without any explanation to the author.

At least it was good to note that the latest production promises are now verifiable within a rather short period of time ... over to you Hawrami - is the Turkey nearly done?

And another reference to the 'synergy' word when talking about Sheikh Adi and Shaikan ... nice. With ExxonMobil due to spud Al Qush-1 'imminently' (refer Western Zagros 'internal' map) there may be some more use of the 'synergy' word in the not too far distant future ... (please do look at that map, and note the alleged boundary of Shaikan compared to the shape of the SH-AQ anticlines). Maybe Al Qush-1 has been re-named SH-9 ?

GLA,

BBBS

P.S. KRG rules - but Turkey over-rules - in more ways than one. That'll be 'that' post again ... one day .. maybe 'soon'.

Mol Rises Third Day on Kurdistan Oil Discovery: Budapest Mover
By Edith Balazs - Feb 20, 2013 8:46 AM GMT



Mol Nyrt., Hungary’s largest refiner, rose a third day, heading for the highest close in more than a week, after it reported an oil discovery in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
The shares advanced 0.7 percent to 17,895 forint by 9:23 a.m. in Budapest, heading for the highest close since Feb. 7. The benchmark BUX stock index, in which Mol has the second- highest weighting at 31 percent, gained 0.1 percent.
The company discovered new, medium density oil in the Bakram exploration well, in Kurdistan, Iraq, Mol said in a statement on the Budapest bourse website today. The test resulted in 2,616 barrels of oil per day, according to the statement.
The discovery shows “strong numbers and may suggest a sizable upgrade of recoverable resource potential soon,” Peter Csaszar, a Warsaw-based analyst at KBC Grope NV, said in an e- mailed report today. “We continue to see Mol’s activities in Kurdistan as the most interesting project amongst that central and eastern European oil companies.”
The Kurdistan project will be Mol’s most important source of increasing output, with commercial production scheduled to start by 2015 at the latest, Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Molnar said last year.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-20/mol-rises-third-day-on-kurdistan-oil-discovery-budapest-mover.html

http://iraqidinarchat.net/?p=16233

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Media leaks: Maliki agrees on oil contracts in Kurdistan compared passed from Baghdad!!

Media leaks: Maliki agrees on oil contracts in Kurdistan compared passed from Baghdad!!

Date: Thursday, 02/21/2013 09:10 am

Media leak indicated preliminary approval made by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and a large tongue advisers Tariq Najim in a meeting with the President of Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, on oil contracts concluded by international companies in the Kurdistan region and was the subject of controversy between the governments in Baghdad and the region.

It showed that this trend comes to calm the current crisis in order to Hlhaltha hand and not giving any justification for the Kurdistan Regional Government to seek to conclude more contracts without the knowledge of the government or against her.
explained that U.S. pressure brought to bear on the government in Baghdad had a significant impact on access to these formula, asserting that Maliki spoke on condition acceptance on those contracts, that is passed from Baghdad in coordination with the province.

chakooch.com

Be the first to comment - What do you think? Posted by admin - F

http://www.ogj.com/articles/2013/02/iraq--krg-awards-qara-dagh-block-to-chevron.html q: KRG awards Qara Dagh block to Chevron

Iraq: KRG awards Qara Dagh block to Chevron
HOUSTON, Feb. 22
02/22/2013
By OGJ editors
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The Kurdistan Regional Government has awarded the Qara Dagh block to Chevron Corp.

The former holders drilled the block’s first exploratory well, which confirmed the presence of an active petroleum system but failed to establish commercial rates. The group agreed to relinquish the block in late 2012 (OGJ Online, Feb. 14, 2013).

The former owners were Calgary independents Niko Resources Ltd., operator with a 49% interest, Vast Exploration Inc. 25%, and Groundstar Resources Ltd. 6%. The KRG had a 20% carried interest.

Niko, Vast, and Groundstar relinquished their interests in exchange for proceeds equal to the carrying amount of the asset. Niko Resources said it expects to receive $15 million within 60 days of the earlier of formal signing of the production-sharing contract between the KRG and Chevron on May 31.

Here's hoping?

http://www.ninanews.com/english/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=GGGEFM
23/02/2013 10:01:00

(He = Awadi)

He confirmed "The dispute with the Kurdistan Alliance, including payments for the oil companies operating in the Kurdistan region, has been resolved and agreed upon."

It is scheduled that today's session of the House of Representatives will witness vote on the budget after several times of delays because of the political differences./ End

OOPs back to squre1.

http://www.shafaaq.com/en/news/5289-breaking-news-parliament-postpones-vote-on-the-budget-again.

25
Feb 2013
Baghdad resolves oil firms payments dispute with KRG

Exxon Mobil begin exploration work in Kurdistan .. In a deal that included six decades

http://www.directorstalk.com/?s=gkp

Could it be we have a breakthrough,only time will tell,but it looks promising?

http://www.ninanews.com/english/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=GGGHL

Progress continues at Gulf Keystone. The company could have 50kbd of gross production capacity online by mid-2013 (40kbd at Shaikan and 10kbd at Bijell).
25th Feb
http://www.directorstalk.com/progress-continues-at-gulf-keystone-the-company-could-have-50kbd-of-gross-production-capacity-online-by-mid-2013-40kbd-at-shaikan-and-10kbd-at-bijell-t/

Two Calgary companies go elephant hunting in Kurdistan
25TH FEB 2013
| Directors Talk
http://www.directorstalk.com/two-calgary-companies-go-elephant-hunting-in-kurdistan/

26
Feb 2013
Exxon chooses Kurdistan in Iraq
http://www.scoop.it/t/oil-explorers-iraq/curate