Gulfsands halts Syria exploration as political pressures force it to retreat
OIL company Gulfsands Petroleum yesterday said it would try to build a business outside of crisis-ridden Syria as it decided to stop exploring for oil in Syria, six weeks after ceasing production there.
The company also said that chief financial officer Andrew Rose would resign from the company in April.
Gulfsands said it was “actively evaluating” new opportunities to establish a non-Syria business after European Union sanctions against the country forced the company to stop its activities there.
Political violence in Syria has escalated recently after a 10-month uprising against the country’s President Bashar al-Assad.
“The overriding objective is to build, as quickly as practicable, a viable non-Syrian leg to the business, within the capacity of the company’s present and prospective financial resources to sustain,” Gulfsands said in a statement.
The company added that it had cash of $120m (£75.8m) and no debts, giving it confidence that it could endure a long period of uncertainty in Syria.
Gulfsands stopped being involved in production at its oil field in north east Syria – its only cash-generating asset – in December to comply with the sanctions, but until yesterday’s statement had said that it planned to carry on with its exploration activities.