Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) does “not need to do a deal” according to chief executive Jón Ferrier, amid reports that the Kurdistan-based producer is a takeover target of Chinese oil group Sinopec. Speculation of a sale or merger has grown since bondholders were handed the majority of the main market-listed* group’s equity last October, in a move that all but wiped out small investors. Since then, Gulf Keystone’s share price has risen with an improved oil price, and management has signed an incentive scheme that could greatly reward it, if a binding sale is agreed by the end of 2017.
Speaking on the Investors Chronicle’s Extraction Podcast, Mr Ferrier also said he was confident of finalising a deal with its main customer, the Kurdistan Regional Government, for cash owed for several months of last year's production.