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.

Time this went up...

Sp breakout !.

Regarless of the latest update : the assets in the Gulf of Mexico must be nearly back on line after the hurricane damage a couple of years ago...an rns about that soon ?.

Sorry, double post.

Broker recommendation:

Last August, Sinochem, the Chinese oil group, made an $880m all-cash takeover offer for Emerald Energy the UK-listed company that held the remaining 50% stake in Gulfsands's Syrian assets. Although Gulfsands is not viewed as a short-term seller, that deal did nothing to diminish the view that one day Sinochem will come for the other half, too. At 274p a price equivalent to its estimated current net assets buy on weakness says the Times

The first of the Syrian wells spudded is a DUD!

no shit sherlock! ..... well spotted a day and a half late

Haha...better late than never.

RNS bid approach.

excellent little earner this one has been for me!

purely for interest, can anyone remember what premium over the pre-bid price sinochem paid for emerald?

33.81 per cent. to the Closing Price of 560.50 pence per Emerald Share on 10 July 2009, the last Business Day prior to the announcement by Emerald that it had received an approach;

11.11 per cent. to the Closing Price of 675.00 pence per Emerald Share on 11 August 2009, the last Business Day prior to this Announcement; and

46.64 per cent. to the average Closing Price of 511.44 pence per Emerald Share over the three-month period ended on 9 July 2009.

http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/prices-and-news/news/market-news/market-news-detail.html?announcementId=10148004

many thanks ...... by rationalisation only, potentially still a bit of upside here, but not a time to buy from zero

any guess's who's made the approach?? who would be interested?

almost certainly sinochem who took out GPX's site partner emerald energy

you think it will gain a couple of quid a share like EEN if it happens or more?

Sold out ten days ago after being in for 3 years..got bored.........agggggghhh....

really no idea ..... i only asked about emerald out of curiosity and the obvious link

RF jumped ship again......... don't know what to say...lol

Oil and gas explorer Gulfsands Petroleum is set to turn down a preliminary takeover approach on Friday, the Financial Times reported.
Citing people familiar with the situation, the FT said the board of the Syrian-focused explorer had decided to reject the approach, understood to be from a large Indian oil group.
Analysts had also pointed to Sinochem, China's No. 4 oil company, as a possible acquirer as it co-owns block 26 in Syria with Gulfsands through its acquisition of Emerald Energy in 2009.

No one at Gulfsands, whose shares surged 20 percent to an all-time high of 312.5 pence on Thursday, could immediately be reached for comment.

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this will certainly hit sp first thing, but suspect (hope) just opening salvos