Proactive Investors UK
By Jamie Ashcroft
DRC-1 is the group’s best success to date in Morocco
Gulfsands Petroleum(LON:GPX) has encountered excellent quality gas bearing reservoirs at the Rharb Centre project, onshore Morocco.
It has now drilled two consecutive successful exploration wells, and the company sees substantial additional gas exploration potential which it intends to target in a 2015 drill programme.
The DRC-1 well was drilled to a depth of 1,153 metres and encountered the primary target on prognosis at 875 metres.
During drilling significantly elevated gas readings were obtained, and further analysis of geological samples and wire-line logs indicate the presence of gas in a reservoir of excellent quality.
“We are delighted with the results of the drilling operations and petrophysical evaluation of the DRC-1 well which point to it being the best exploration success that the company has achieved in Morocco to date,” said chief executive Mahdi Sajjad.
Data indicates gross reservoir thickness of 53 metres, a net gas bearing thickness of 16 metres. Gas saturation is evaluated at 68% while average porosity is determined to be 34%.
The well will now be completed and suspended as a future gas production well.
Drilling operations will then continue, with the rig moving on to the planned Douar Ouled Balkhair well (DOB-1).
Today’s drilling success comes ahead of a shareholder vote on the composition of the group’s management team. It is scheduled for Tuesday January 13.
At the meeting shareholders will be asked to vote on proposals to remove the company’s directors.
It comes after two separate requisitions were made by major shareholders.
Waterford Finance, a 28% shareholder, has called for chief executive Mahdi Sajjad and commercial director Ken Judge to be removed from the board.
Separately, Abdul Rahman Kayed (ARK), owning 9.75% of Gulfsands, has proposed the removal of chairman Andrew West and non-executive directors John Bell and James Ede Golightly.
In a recent statement Waterford said it did not support the ARK proposal, adding that Gulfsands needs to have a sufficient number of non-executive directors to ensure good corporate governance.
