Gulf Keystone Petroleum provide Ber Bahr-1 exploration well update

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Gulf Keystone notes today's announcement by Genel Energy plc, the operator regarding Ber Bahr-1, the first exploration well on the Ber Bahr block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as follows:

"The Ber Bahr 1 well has now completed drilling and initial testing. The well was drilled to 3993m in the Chia Zairi formation. The well encountered a 300m oil column in the Jurassic with matrix porosity of 17%. Two drill stem tests over the interval failed to flow and yielded inconclusive results, with evidence of perforations plugged with heavy oil. The well has been temporarily suspended whilst a work over rig is moved to the location to conduct an extended well test."

The operator has also stated that further evaluation of the significant oil column will be required to determine whether this discovery is commercially viable.

Gulf Keystone has a 40 per cent working interest in the Ber Bahr block, operated by Genel Energy plc, which holds a 40 per cent working interest in the block. The Kurdistan Regional Government has a 20 per cent carried interest in the Ber Bahr Production Sharing Contract. The operator's resource estimate for the Ber Bahr block is 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent-initially-in-place.

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

"We look forward to the operator's update on further evaluation of the significant 300m oil column encountered by the Ber Bahr-1 exploration well. Meanwhile our high impact 2012/2013 drilling programme in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, targeting 5 exploration and 7 appraisal wells across the Shaikan, Sheikh Adi and Akri-Bijeel blocks, is in progress. We continue to work hard to prove up the impressive resource estimates for these three blocks, which add up to at least 16 billion barrels of gross mean oil-in-place."

Source: Gulf Keystone

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