Gulfsands Petroleum PLC

Gulfsands Petroleum PLC is an independent oil and gas exploration, development and production group based in Houston, Texas. Gulfsands has development, exploitation and exploration projects in the USA (offshore Gulf of Mexico and onshore Gulf Coast) and the Syrian Arab Republic and has signed a memorandum of understanding relating to a large project in Iraq.

Ordinary shares of the Company trade on the Alternative Investment Market ("AIM") of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol GPX.

In the USA Gulf of Mexico, Gulfsands owns interests in 64 offshore blocks comprising approximately 216,000 gross acres which includes 39 producing oil and gas fields offshore Texas and Louisiana. Proved and probable reserves are approximately 30.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalents, consisting of 14.94 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 2.56 million barrels of oil as of 30 June 2005. For the first half of 2005 net working interest production to Gulfsands from these 39 fields has been at an average daily volume of between 2,500 -- 3,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

In the Syrian Arab Republic, Gulfsands owns a 50% working interest in Block 26. This block located in northeast Syria covers an area of approximately 11,000 square kilometers, and surrounds areas which currently produce over 100,000 barrels of oil per day from existing fields. Gulfsands has identified 31 exploitation and exploration prospects and leads with mean resources potential exceeding 1 billion barrels of recoverable oil. The first well is anticipated to be drilled by Gulfsands during the first half of 2006.

Gulfsands signed a Memorandum of Understanding in January 2005 with the Ministry of Oil in Iraq for the Misan Gas Project located in Southern Iraq and is currently working towards the execution of a definitive contract for the project. Gulfsands has completed a feasibility study and expects to conduct further technical work and commercial discussions with the Iraq Oil Ministry. The Misan Gas Project is a midstream project that gathers gas that is currently being flared at the oil fields in Southern Iraq, brings the gas to a central processing plant to clean it of impurities and remove the light hydrocarbon liquid fraction (Natural Gas Liquids), and then transmits the natural gas for further distribution and use in Iraq. The extracted hydrocarbon liquids are then transmitted to a southern port for storage, offloading and export. Gulfsands has a 100% interest in the Misan Gas Project.

Gulfsands formed a subsidiary company, Darcy Energy LLC ("Darcy Energy"), to conduct onshore USA Gulf Coast field re-development and exploration. Darcy Energy has acquired interests in two onshore projects in which discoveries have been made on both of them. Darcy commenced first production in the summer of 2005.

Recent article from Telegraph online....

Gulfsands hits another milestone

By Garry White
Published: 9:26PM BST 08 Aug 2009

Gulfsand Petroleum

There was more positive new this week from oil producer and explorer Gulfsands Petroleum. The company said that it had successfully completed the expansion of its early production facility at Khurbet East in Syria. It now has a capacity of 18,000 barrels per day.

This has resulted in an increase in gross daily oil production from the Khurbet East field from approximately 10,730 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in June to approximately 14,700 bopd. This is the latest stage in the company's development and is reassuring progress.

Gulfsands has a working interest of 50pc of the block with the other half held by Emerald Energy, which is currently in a bid situation. It is believed that state-owned Chinese companies are interested in the assets. Further production growth is expected over the next year or so, rising to a peak of around 30,000 bopd.

Questor recommended buying shares in Gulfsands in April at 182p and the shares are at about the same level now. The company's operations in Syria, where it has a licence in Block 26, are very exciting. The block is very large and it also has infrastructure, including a pipeline, close by. The company aims to become a significant exploration and production company in the Middle East and seeks to be viewed as a preferred operator and partner.

Gulfsands also has some producing assets in the US, but these are non-core. The wells are currently not producing at their maximum rate because of hurricane damage over the last two years, but the assets are being repaired and will eventually be sold off when market conditions improve. Until then, they will provide the group with cash flow.

The company has a solid balance sheet. It has no debt and, at the end of the last financial year, it had $36.8m (22m) of cash in the bank. It is expected that the group will be able to fund its capital expenditure programme from current cash balances and its own cash flow. So the prospect of dilutive equity placings which are always a risk with exploration companies look slim.

The company's management owns about 12pc of the group, and this also makes a placing less likely after all, they wouldn't want to dilute their own stakes in the group, would they? Questor always prefers it when the interests of management are aligned with the interests of shareholders.

Over the longer term, the company is also moving into Iraq, although this project is at a very early stage, so it is likely to take some time before solid news flow comes from this project.

In January 2005, Gulfsands signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Oil in Iraq for the Maysan Gas Project in the south of the country.

The project involves the design and operation of a gathering system for gas currently being flared as a waste product of oil production.

The group's medium-term goal in Iraq is to secure oil and gas exploration and development projects. Talks are ongoing.

The shares are trading on a December 2009 earnings multiple of 9.2 times, falling to 6.7 in 2010.

This is a growth share, so it does not pay a dividend, making it unsuitable for those investors pursuing an income strategy.

Buy.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/questor/5994532/Gulfsands-hits-another-milestone.html

A lull in sp rise here...should pick up sooner or later...

Almost reached 40p.

don't confuse your GPX with your GKP. though easily done i know!

sorry wrong thread.

Nor your GP....he might not be amused...

This jumps up like someone's bitten it's bottom !.

Starting to break out now.....really climping steeply....in time I can see this hitting 300p......TW is tipping this one and I think he's right.

GPX has been flagged by a few pundits in the last 2/3 months

Holy mackerel !...what's happening here ?.

260 was my target. Now have to decide whether to ride the wave or stick to my original plan.

Looks good for 300p soon Harrycat.

may well be something of nothing, but i see that yesterday(?) sp teased back below its previous all-time high and has subsequently bounced straight back up

PAY ATTENTION!
no news out, but sp zipping away on relatively high volume - daily average is normally +/-450k

Two things 1, the resumption of gas supply in the gulf coming and 2 : discussions with Iraq about a big contract on the agenda possibly together with crude doing well.

with 1.25m now traded, it's not impossible that sinochem are building their stake - they took out EEN, the partner in Khurbet

Tipped in today's Telegraph

Well they're a bit late .....next thing they'll say the market's recovering...

worth posting in full i think .....

Gulfsands Petroleum PLC
Half-Yearly Results for the Six Months Ended 30 June 2009
Highlights
Operational

* Average working interest production 6,165 boepd vs. 1,699 boepd
in H1 08
* US production still not fully restored following 2008 hurricanes
* 850 km� of 3D seismic data acquired on Block 26, Syria
* Average sales price for Syrian production in H1 09 : $44.0/bbl, a
discount to average Brent of $7.9/bbl

Financial

* Revenues up 47% to $29.0 million (H1 08: $19.7 million)
* Net profit $3.7 million (H1 08: loss of $10.3 million (restated))
* Net cash from operations, before working capital movements, $12.4
million (H1 08: $5.4 million)
* Capital expenditure $14.7 million (H1 08: $11.3 million)
* Cash balance at period end of $31.9 million (31.12.08: $36.8
million).

Post Period Events

* Capacity of Early Production Facility increased to 18,000 bopd
gross
* Year-end target of 16,000 bopd from Khurbet East Field reached
mid-September
* Average discount to Brent of Syrian oil sales in July and August
fell to below $3/bbl


Gulfsands' Chairman, Andrew West, said:

"The first half of 2009 has demonstrated the tangible financial
benefits of Gulfsands' Middle Eastern strategy. Despite a relatively
weak oil price during the period, we have not only increased revenue
and operating cash flow substantially as compared to the first half
of 2008 but have delivered the first profit for shareholders for five
years. We are also delighted to welcome Sinochem as our provisional
new partner in Block 26 and look forward to working closely with them
to exploit aggressively the significant development and exploration
opportunities remaining within the Block."

Sp keeps on banging it's head on the 250p ceiling.....got to burst through this soon...