Gulfsands Petroleum has received approval from the Syrian Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources and the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) for commercial development of the Khurbet East Field.

Development of the Cretaceous Massive Reservoir within the Field will commence immediately, it said.

Gulfsands is an oil and gas production, exploration and development company with activities in the USA, Syria and Iraq.

The Khurbet East Oil Field is within Block 26 in North East Syria.  Gulfsands is the operator, on behalf of the Block 26 Contractor group, and owns a 50 per cent working interest in Block 26 subject to the terms of the Contract for the Exploration and Development and Production of Petroleum for Block 26.

The company has also received the first reserves report for the Massive Reservoir in the Khurbet East Field which estimates gross life-of-field proved and probable (2P) reserves of 66 million barrels of oil and gross life-of-field proved, probable and possible (3P) reserves as 143 million barrels of oil.

Reserves estimates for the Butmah Formation and the Kurrachine Dolomite reservoirs discovered in the KHE-1 well will be made once further drilling and appraisal work has been completed.

The reserves report was prepared by independent consultants, RPS Energy of London. 

The Khurbet East Oil Field was discovered in the second quarter of 2007 with the KHE-1 well.  Two appraisal wells, KHE-2 and KHE-3 have since been drilled in the Field.  The KHE-3 well flowed oil to surface on drill-stem test at an average stabilized rate of 3,420 barrels of oil per day (bopd).

Gulfsands and its partners intend to commence field development immediately and establish early production from the shallow Massive Reservoir as soon as an Early Production Facility (EPF) can be installed at the site, and prior to any further appraisal of the Triassic discoveries within the Khurbet East Field, a statement said.

The Company expects that an EPF capable of producing some 10,000 bopd can be operational by the fourth quarter of 2008 and will be followed by the full field development (FFD) facility installation in 2009. - TradeArabia News Service