Gulfsands Places New Shares

Gulfsands Petroleum has agreed to place 8 million new ordinary shares of 5.714p each in the Company at £1.45 per Placing Share to the Al Mashreq Investment Fund and Hickam Ventures, representing a total investment in the Company of £11.6 million.

The Al Mashreq Investment Fund is controlled by interests associated with Mr. Rami Makhlouf, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Ramak Group and one of Syria's most prominent businessmen with extensive business interests in a number of sectors including telecommunications, hotels, real estate development, leisure and retail and duty free shopping. The Al Mashreq Investment Fund has agreed to subscribe for 7 million Placing Shares representing an investment in the Company of £10.15 million.

Hickam Ventures represents interests associated with Mr. Nizar Assaad, Chairman and Chief Executive of Lead Contracting and Trading Group which is Syria's largest oil field services group with divisions handling civil and general engineering and the construction and design of power plants, oil and gas production facilities and petrochemical plants across the Middle East and North Africa. Lead's international clients include Total, Conoco-Phillips, BP-AMOCO, Sonatrach, Stat Oil, Qatar Petroleum and the Syria Gas and Petroleum Production Company. Hickam Ventures has agreed to subscribe for 1 million Placing Shares representing and investment in the Company of £1.45 million.

Completion of the subscription for the Placing Shares by the Al Mashreq Investment Fund and Hickam Ventures is anticipated to occur on or about 16 July 2007 following which application will be made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM.

Gulfsands' Chairman, Andrew West and its CEO, John Dorrier, said:

"We are very pleased to welcome Mr. Makhlouf's and Mr. Assaad's companies as substantial shareholders in our Company and thank them for this significant expression of confidence in Gulfsands.

These funds will assist us to accelerate our activities in Syria including the evaluation of the future development of our recent oil and gas discovery at Khurbet East."