Gulf Keystone strikes more oil in Iraq

Gulf Keystone Petroleum said it had recorded solid preliminary results at its latest well in Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The company said it had completed the drilling operations at its Shaikan-5 well, the fourth well in the five-well appraisal programme.

Results indicated a continuous oil column with approximately 237 metres of net pay, and porosities which are consistent with results obtained elsewhere in the field, Gulf said.

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Good hydrocarbon saturations were calculated throughout the Jurassic interval where fracture intensity appears to be comparable to or exceed those seen in other Shaikan wells, it added.

Chief Operating Officer John Gerstenlauer said the preliminary results obtained with the Shaikan-5 appraisal well confirmed "the massively prolific nature of the Jurassic interval of the Shaikan structure".

"We look forward to completing the Shaikan appraisal programme, including further testing of the Jurassic and Triassic intervals with the Shaikan-5 and -6 wells, and incorporating all the new results into our independently audited gross oil-in-place estimates for the world-class Shaikan discovery," he said.