2023 Annual Report and Notice of Annual General Meeting

Gulfsands Petroleum plc (“Gulfsands” or the “Company“, the “Group”), the oil and gas company focused on growth in the Middle East and broader MENA region, is pleased to announce that the Company’s Annual Report and Accounts for the year-ended 31 December 2023 (“2023 Annual Report and Accounts”) are now available to shareholders, along with a Notice of the 2024 Annual General Meeting (“AGM”).

The 2023 Annual Report and Accounts and Notice of AGM are available to download from the Company’s website, www.gulfsands.com and from the Company’s registered office at 60 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0HR.  A letter has been dispatched to all shareholders explaining the arrangements for the AGM, together with hard copies of the 2023 Annual Report and Accounts and Notice of AGM to any shareholders who have elected to receive them.

Annual General Meeting (“AGM”)

The Company’s Annual General Meeting will be held at 60 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0HR on Wednesday 26 June 2024 at 11.00 am.

In issuing the 2023 Annual Report and Accounts, Gulfsands’ Managing Director, Mr. John Bell, said:

“We are pleased to present our Annual Report and Accounts for 2023, a year during which we made substantive strategic progress towards our goal of re-establishing ourselves as a dynamic, MENA centric, growth-oriented energy company.

I am delighted to report that Gulfsands is now debt-free, following the completion of the conversion of the entire amount outstanding under the 2017 Secured Financing Facility.  This clean balance sheet, together with our increased presence in the region through our Abu Dhabi based subsidiary, Gulfsands Middle East Limited (“GMEL”), provides us with a solid platform to push ahead with our growth plans in the region. Gulfsands’ ambition is to create a multi-billion-dollar asset portfolio through the acquisition of operated and non-operated interests in the MENA region.

We have seen a significant increase in our business development activity over the last year and we remain committed to finding transactions that will bring value and stability to our shareholders.  We believe that our dedicated team, with their unique regional knowledge and breadth of experience across a broad range of disciplines, will enable us to find the right transactions for Gulfsands. We have also sought to strengthen Gulfsands’ profile and visibility within the region, and the industry, to be recognised as a credible partner of choice.

Syria, and our world class Block 26 assets, remain central to our strategy.  We were delighted to have completed a Competent Persons Report (“CPR”) during the year which confirmed a 50% increase in 2C Contingent Resources, the vast majority of which we expect to be reclassified as 2P reserves as soon as we are able to return to operations.  This only goes to re-enforce the quality of these Syrian assets.

In order to expedite a return to operations for the benefit of all, not least the Syrian people who have now suffered over 13 years of crisis, we continue to promote and advocate for “Project Hope”, a Humanitarian and Economic Stimulus initiative whereby international energy companies would return, with international oversight, to operations in North-East Syria with allocated revenues used to finance early recovery, humanitarian, economic and security projects across the country – for the benefit of all Syrian people.” 

For further information, please refer to the Company’s website at www.gulfsands.com or contact:

Gulfsands Petroleum Plc	+44 (0)20 3929 9476
Michael Kroupeev, Non-Executive Chairman John Bell, Managing Director Andrew Morris, Finance Director

Certain statements included herein constitute “forward-looking statements” concerning the Company within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions made by Gulfsands and as such are not a guarantee of future performance. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond Gulfsands’ ability to control or estimate precisely, such as general economic and market conditions in various countries and regions, political risks, environmental and physical risks, legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments, drilling and production results, reserves estimates, changes in demand for Gulfsands’ products, increased costs of production or price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas. Gulfsands cannot give any assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Gulfsands does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements set out herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.