Gulfsands Sets Casing in Tigris-1

Gulfsands Petroleum plc, the oil and gas production, exploration and development company with activities in the USA, Syria and Iraq, on Thursday issued an update on the drilling of the Tigris-1 well in Block 26, Syria.

The Company has set 9 5/8 inch casing at a depth of 3,435 meters on the Tigris-1 well in Block 26, Syria. At this depth, the wellbore has entered into the Paleozoic aged geologic section to which the Company owns contractual rights in the Tigris structure. The well is currently drilling at a depth of 3,546 meters, and it is anticipated to take a further 45 days to complete drilling and wireline logging operations on this well.

The Tigris-1 well is projected to reach a total depth of approximately 4,500 meters and the surface location is located within the areal limits of the Souedieh Field, where production of oil and gas from Cretaceous and Triassic reservoirs is operated by the Syria Petroleum Company. The Tigris-1 well objectives are the deeper Palaeozoic age reservoirs, for which the Company holds contractual rights, underlying the Souedieh Field. Gulfsands is the operator and has a 50% working interest in Block 26.

The Tigris-1 well is the second well to target the Palaeozoic aged reservoirs within the overall Tigris structure. The S1100 well, drilled in 1994 by the Syrian Petroleum Company and located approximately 1 kilometer northeast of the Tigris-1 well, was the first well to intersect these reservoirs within this structure. Independent interpretation of the wireline logs from the S1100 well indicates a substantial hydrocarbon column. The main objective of the Tigirs-1 well is to confirm the presence of this hydrocarbon column.

The Tigris structure has been estimated by Ryder Scott Company, L.P. to have probable reserves of 442 BCF of natural gas, and when combined with possible reserves and prospective resource a total potential resource of some 4.3 TCF of natural gas, or 562 million barrels of oil. The Ryder Scott reserve reports can be viewed on Gulfsands' website at www.gulfsands.net.

Gulfsands has also completed its recent seismic acquisition program, consisting of 266 kilometers of 2D seismic data. This data will be used to assist the definition of potential drilling locations. Processing is currently underway and delivery of the final interpretations is anticipated to commence prior to year end.

Gulfsands' CEO, John Dorrier, said:

"We are pleased to have reached this landmark depth in Tigris-1. We can now begin drilling the geologic section which the Company owns contractual rights to, and evaluate the reservoir concepts this well is designed to test."