Gulfsands Petroleum has been forced to declare force majeure and stop producing and selling oil from its Block 26 fields in Syria due to the latest European Union sanctions on the conflict-torn state.
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The early indications are that Gulfsands will retain its rights under the production contract, and the company will for the time being maintain its presence in Syria, but Gulfsands loses substantially all its revenue. The group is debt-free and had more than $120m (£77m) of cash at the end of November. But if the conflict isn't resolved soon, the sanctions could ultimately see funds drain away and hit exploration drilling that in October made a potential oil discovery at Sidi Dhaher in Tunisia.
