By Fox-Davies Capital

Gulfsands Petroleum provided an update on the Company's operations at Block 26, Syria where Gulfsands holds a 50% interest and acts as operator. The Zaman-1 well, located approximately 4.5km to the south of the Khurbet East Field, targeted the same Cretaceous Massive Formation as is under production at the Khurbet East Oil Field. Zaman-1 encountered the top of the Cretaceous Massive Formation at approximately 2086m Measured Depth ("MD").  A core section of approximately 3m was recovered at 2092m MD that was stained with shows of viscous oil. Wireline logs indicated that approximately 4m of net reservoir pay of average porosity 17% were encountered near the top of the well, a result consistent with the oil staining observed on the core section. An open-hole test was conducted between 2086-2100m MD that flowed formation water at a rate of approximately 1460bopd with only traces of oil being observed at surface. Below 2100m MD, the reservoir was evaluated from wireline logs as being water bearing and tight with secondary porosity attributable to natural fractures. Consequently, the Zaman-1 well has been interpreted as having a small non-commercial quantity of oil reservoired and has been plugged and abandoned.
Following the completion of operations at Zaman-1, the rig will be moved to the Hanoon-1 exploration well location. The Hanoon-1 well will target the Cretaceous Massive formation within an anticlinal closure located less than 10 kilometres north of Khurbet East Field.
At Khurbet East, average daily gross oil production continues at a rate of approximately 17,000bopd. The KHE-13 vertical development well, located approximately 1.5km to the south-west of the KHE-1 discovery well which was brought into production in January producing approximately 300 barrels of oil per day began to produce formation water with  a water-cut rising  to approximately 15%. The well has demonstrated the production capability of the southern portion of the Khurbet East Field, and it will now be shut in until completion of the commissioning of the Central Processing Facility which will incorporate water separation and processing capabilities currently not available at the Early Production Facility.

Ormonde Mining reported on progress at its La Zarza Project in Huelva Province, Spain, where it is in joint venture with Antofagasta Minerals. A new structural interpretation of the La Zarza Deposit and model for the controls on the distribution of the sulphide mineralisation has been completed. This will serve as a basis for drilling of the massive sulphide body. A ground EM (electromagnetic) geophysics survey designed to identify new areas of sulphide mineralisation as drilling targets has also been completed, with drilling commencing in March.

Baobab Resources announced results from the last of three diamond drill holes completed prior to the close of the 2009 field season at the South Zone prospect of the Tete magnetite-ilmenite project. TDH0017 returned a significant mineralised intercept recording concentrate grades of: 43.5m at 64.5% Fe, 0.66% V2O5, 6.23% TiO2 from 56m (36.6% mass recovery).