Oil gushing at Gulf Keystone's Iraq field

18th Mar 2011 13:31

Gulf Keystone has struck big at the Shaikan-2 appraisal well in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.The AIM-listed explorer reported a "significant initial oil flow" in a 44 metre interval (1,792-1,836m) in the Jurassic age formation. "Substantial smoke and/ or the oil flare is/ are visible from the company's office in Erbil some considerable distance from the Shaikan-2 location, indicating that a significant flow has been encountered," it wrote in a stock exchange announcement. A test being carried out now is expected to continue for another 72 hours. These will discover things like flow rate and oil quality. "This initial oil flow continues to confirm our belief in the world class nature of the Shaikan discovery," Todd Kozel, executive chairman and chief executive said. "We are eagerly anticipating more detailed results from the Shaikan-2 well test."