01 October 2014, News Wires – Gulfsands Petroleum is in talks with Moroccan state oil company Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) over the development of a recent discovery in the Rharb Centre permit.
Tie-back of the Lalla Yetou Updip-1 (LTU 1) well, where a gas find was made in July, to the regional gas export pipeline is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
ONHYM has granted the London-listed explorer an extension to 9 January 2015 on its exploration at Rharb Centre, where Gulfsands has identified two new drill-ready prospects. Drilling in the area is expected to continue until the end of the year.
The LTU-1 discovery was consistent with pre-drill expectations and unloaded 100% gas to surface with 0% bulk solids and water, Gulfsands said on Tuesday.
Also in Morocco, in addition to reprocessing and interpreting legacy 2D and 3D seismic data, Gulfsands is planning a new 2D seismic survey on the Moulay Bouchta permit during its first two years of exploration.
On the Fes permit in Morocco, Gulfsands expects to identify its first exploration drilling targets for light oil in early 2015.
In Tunisia, the company revealed it is considering a potential farm-down in the Chorbane licence ahead of making any significant financial commitments to exploration on the permit.
It is in discussion with authorities regarding a 2D seismic tender on the Chorbane permit, with the data provided to be used to locate a new exploration well in the area, which it hopes to drill in 2015.
Of its operations in Syria chief executive Mahdi Sajjad said: “Our facilities in Syria’s far north-east remain safe and secure and largely untouched by the unfortunate circumstances prevailing in the country.” The company declared force majeure in December 2011 when the EU introduced sanctions on Syria.
Gulfsands has increased second-quarter revenue to $3.11 million, compared to $2.21 million in 2013. The company also reported a reduced loss before tax for the first six months at $9.2 million, compared to $11.8 million during the same period last year.
– Upstream
