Gulfsands Petroleum partner commences exploration drilling at Lambouka oil prospect

Gulfsands Petroleum partner commences exploration drilling at Lambouka oil prospect

Gulfsands Petroleum (LON: GPX), the oil and gas company with assets in Iraq, Syria and Gulf of Mexico, has said that operator of the Kerkouane Exploration Licence offshore Tunisia has commenced drilling operations on the Lambouka-1 well on the Lambouka prospect in the Sicily Channel.
The Miocene aged Birsa Formation and the Cretaceous aged Abiod Formation are the primary objectives for the well. ADX Energy has estimated the mean prospective resource for the Lambouka Prospect at 270 million barrels oil equivalent.
Drilling of the Lambouka-1 well - Gulfsands’ first exploration well in Tunisia - is being carried out by the Atwood Southern Cross semi-submersible drilling rig and it is expected to take approximately 35 days to drill and evaluate. The company will drill an onshore well on the Chorbane license in Q4 2010 to earn a 40% participating interest.
Back in May, ADX Energy (ASX:ADX) - when it was still called AuDAX Resources - entered into a farm out agreement with Gulfsands Petroleum over the two licenses, also known as the Sicily Channel Exploration Permits. This deal concluded the formal documentation required by AuDAX for the funding of the Lambouka -1 exploration well.
Gulfsands is acquiring a 30% participating interest in the Kerkouane Licence and the adjacent Pantelleria Permit which lies in the Sicily Channel in Italian waters. In order to earn the interest, the company will have to pay varying but “promoted” proportions of the costs of the 3D seismic programme recently acquired and of the Lambouka well.
Gulfsands has been the subject of bid-speculation since two major Indian oil producers made an unsolicited informal approach for the company, offering 315p per share. The approach was deemed, by Gulfsands, as wholly inadequate as it believed it materially undervalued the company. Later, on the 27 April 2010, the company rebuffed a second unchanged offer.Later, in early May, Oil India and Indian Oil Corp confirmed they do not intend to make an offer to acquire Gulfsands, days after the UK Takeover Panel issued a ‘put-up or shut-up’ ruling.
Gulfsands increased revenues by 57% to US$84.4 million in 2009, turning a maiden net profit of US$27.8 million compared to a loss of US$5.4 million in the previous year.

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