Gulf Keystone eyes 'fantastic 2012'

Gulf Keystone, the oil company focused on the Kurdistan region of Iraq, hailed an 'outstanding' 2011 with more to come in 2012.

This positivity didn't stop the company reporting pre-tax losses of $63.8m in 2011, equivalent to 8c per share, as well as saying it would not pay a dividend.

The company said it would soon submit a development plan for its Shaikan field, which was subject to two major upwards revisions of gross oil-in-place volumes last year.

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Current estimates give the field a mean value of 10.5bn barrels, which the firm said it thought was conservative.

Gulf aims to move Shaikan into large scale staged development in 2013, with a target of producing 400,000 barrels of oil per day.

The plan is to then design and construct a pipeline to bring increasing Shaikan production to international markets.

It will also continue "aggressive exploration and appraisal" of its Sheikh Adi, Ber Bahr and Akri-Bijeel blocks, the company said.

"We have enjoyed another outstanding year in 2011 as we continue to develop our world class asset portfolio," said Chief Executive Todd F Kozel.

"As 2012 looks set to be another fantastic year for the company, we look forward to reporting further operational success as we achieve our goal of developing our world class acreage, thereby creating further value for our shareholders," he added.

The firm said it was eyeing a move from the Alternative Investment Market to the premium list "as part of establishing the company as one of the major independent exploration and production players listed on the London Stock Exchange".