The Khurbet East 3 well will be used to appraise reservoirs on the 8,250-square-kilometre block, which had been found by the Khurbet East 1 discovery well and the Khurbet East 2 appraisal well.

Gulfsands announced a discovery on the block in early 2007.
The rig is expected to drill to a depth of 2,050 metres, with drilling and evaluation expected to take an estimated 45 days. The results from the well will be used in the planning of early development and production from the area, which is scheduled for the first half of 2008.
The total cost of the rig, expected to be about $2.4m, will be shared equally between Gulfsands and the UK’s Emerald Energy. Both companies have a 50 per cent stake in the block. Gulfsands is the operator (MEED 30:3:07).
In late August, a three-year extension to the exploration period began. The company will use the time to acquire at least 250 square kilometres of 3D seismic data and drill two further exploration wells.

Existing fields on block 26 currently produce more than 100,000 barrels a day of oil.
Gulfsands also has a strategic partnership with Cham Holding, a consortium of Syrian businessmen, to acquire oil and gas projects in Syria and Iraq.