Gulf Keystone and Genel make 'significant' discovery

Genel Energy and Gulf Keystone Petroleum have revealed a 'significant' oil discovery at their part-owned exploration well in Kurdistan.

Gulf Keystone and Genel both hold a 40% working interest in the Ber Bahr block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with the Kurdistan Regional Government having a 20% carried interest in the production sharing contract.

Fully-listed Genel Energy, the operator of the block, revealed that the well achieved a sustainable flow rate over a period of days of 2,100 stock tank barrels per day of heavy crude oil.

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AIM-listed Gulf Keystone, currently valued at £1.4bn and poised to soon join the Official List of the London Stock Exchange, noted that Genel intends to begin a phased development of the field in the second half of this year.

John Gerstenlauer, Gulf Keystone's Chief Operating Officer, said: "This is another significant discovery and the fifth across the four blocks the company has an interest in.

"It comes during an exciting year for the company as we move towards becoming a significant producer in the region."

Earlier in May, Gulf Keystone informed that in the coming months it would move into "a phase of significant production", with the capacity to produce up to 40,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from its Shaikan discovery nearby in Kurdistan, which is expected to increase to 150,000 bopd in 2015 and up to 400,000 bopd in coming years.

Shares in Gulf Keystone Petroleum were up 1.3% at 154p and in Genel Energy were up 1.9% at 944.5p at 09:15 on Thursday.

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