OREANDA-NEWS. Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited, an exploration and production company with operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, provides an update on the Company's operations at Shaikan, its key producing asset.

The Company is pleased to announce that the existing Shaikan production facilities ("PF-1" and "PF-2") are now producing from seven wells with Shaikan-8 expected to come online in January 2015. Total daily production has been gradually increasing since early December 2014, reaching the Company's 40,000 gross barrels of oil per day target on 27 December. On 29 December, a record number of 354 trucks were loaded at PF-1 and PF-2 with nearly 58,000 gross barrels of Shaikan crude sent by truck to the Turkish coast for further export sale.

On 24 December, the Company spudded Shaikan-11, an additional producer, which will be tied to PF-2 through the 11 km flowline, already in place.

John Gerstenlauer, Gulf Keystone's Chief Executive Officer commented:

"We are pleased to begin 2015 on the back of a positive end to last year, having achieved the Company's record daily production and crude oil export sales rates from the Shaikan field. 2014 was not without its challenges for the Kurdistan Region and we are proud of what has been achieved against this backdrop, in particular a nearly 300% increase in Shaikan production and export sales since January 2014. Our immediate focus is to ensure a stable daily production rate of 40,000 gross barrels of oil per day, which is a base for future production growth, whilst maintaining a regular payment cycle for Shaikan export oil sales by truck and to finalise a pipeline access solution for Shaikan."