GULFSANDS PETROLEUM HAS provided the following update on the company's operations at Block 26, Syria where Gulfsands holds a 50 per cent interest and acts as operator. The Yousefieh 3 vertical appraisal well, located approximately 500 meters to the south-east of the Yousefieh 1 discovery well,encountered the top of the Cretaceous Massive Formation at a measured depth("MD") of 1946 meters (1530 meters true vertical depth sub surface
("TVD SS") and was drilled to a total depth of 2056 meters MD (1640 meters TVD SS).
Preliminary interpretation of drilling data and wireline logs has identified a gross oil column within the well-bore of 60 meters with a net pay of 49 meters having an average porosity of 19.5 per cent and an oil-water contact at 1590 meters TVD SS, consistent with that seen at Yousefieh 1 and 2. An open-hole drill-stem test was conducted over the interval 1946-1985 meters MD.
Yousefieh 3 flowed naturally at an average rate of 226 stock tank barrels per day of 24-25 degree API oil for nine hours on a 32/64" choke setting. No formation water was produced during this flow period. Analysis of this well test indicates that a component of this reduced oil flow rate when compared to Yousefieh 1 is the result of formation damage sustained during drilling and coring operations. The reservoir section will be subjected to an acid stimulation at a later date with the objective of improving flow performance.
The well will now be completed as a potential future production well with the running of a 7" liner over the reservoir section. Following the completion of operations at Yousefieh 3, the rig will move to the Khurbet East field to drill Khurbet East 13 ("KHE-13"), a vertical production well to be located approximately 600 meters southwest of the Khurbet East 9 development well. Khurbet East 12 ("KHE-12"), located 3.2 kilometers south of the Khurbet East 8 well, the previous southern most well in the Khurbet East field, was drilled as a delineation well to determine the southern extent of the field and identify the field oil-water contact. Extended flow testing operations have recently been completed on KHE- 12.
Oil was confirmed to be present within a six meter section of core recovered from the top of the reservoir interval but the well did not flow oil to surface in the presence of artificial lift and acid stimulation. Formation water only was produced during testing of a net reservoir interval of 10 meters and initial interpretation of this flow test result is that the oil observed in KHE-12 core is residual and lies beneath the Khurbet East field oil-water contact.
The field oil-water contact is now assessed as being located at a depth shallower than the top of the Cretaceous Massive reservoir encountered in KHE-12 at 1592 meters TVD SS, but deeper than 1570 meters TVD SS, the lowest level of oil production from Khurbet East as recorded in well KHE-8. The result of this well will be incorporated into an assessment of field reserves which is scheduled to be completed during the first quarter of 2010. KHE-12 is now expected to be used as a future water disposal well. Cumulative gross oil production from the Khurbet East field has reached 5 million barrels with minimal water production and little pressure depletion being observed to date. Average daily gross oil production during the month of October is in excess of 17,000 barrels per day.
Ric Malcolm, Gulfsands CEO, said, "The successful outcome of the Yousefieh 3 appraisal well will now enable the Company to proceed shortly with an application for commercial development of the Yousefieh field. We continue to be very pleased with the excellent production performance of the Khurbet East field and on reaching another important milestone of five million barrels gross production. Additionally, the results from the Khurbet East 12 well have enabled us to identify the southern extent of the field and to further narrow down the depth of the field oil-water contact."
