Drilling Commenced at Gulf Keystone's Bakrman Well

Gulf Keystone announced that the Bakrman-1 exploration well spudded on the Akri-Bijeel block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on May 7, 2012.

Bakrman-1, the third exploration well to be drilled on the Akri-Bijeel block, is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) to the north-west of the Bijell-1 discovery well and 16 miles (25 kilometers) to the north-west of the Aqra-1 appraisal well, which is currently being drilled to appraise the Bijell discovery.

The well is part of the operator's extensive exploration and appraisal program, which also includes the drilling of the Gulak-1 exploration well and three additional appraisal wells (Bijell-2, Qalati-1 and Qandagul-1). Bakrman-1 will target prospective intervals in the Jurassic, with a planned total depth of approximately 11,811 feet (3,600 meters) in the Lower Jurassic.

Gulf Keystone has a 20 percent working interest in the Akri-Bijeel block, operated by Kalegran Ltd., a 100 percent subsidiary of MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Plc., which holds an 80 percent working interest in the block. The operator's P50 resource estimate for the Bijell discovery is 2.4 billion barrels of oil-in-place, while the ongoing 2012/13 exploration and appraisal program is targeting existing and identified hydrocarbon prospects in the Akri-Bijeel block.