Shares of AIM-listed oil explorer Gulf Keystone are soaring more than 16% at midday, and trading at 257p, giving the firm a market capitalization of £2.274bn.

In an announcement released today, the firm announced that it has reached an agreement over options at two of its sites with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Gulf Keystone has agreed that the KRG may assign an interest to a third party in both the Shaikan and Akri-Bijeel blocks.

However, there is also some 'market chatter' today pointing to the possibility that the company could be sold.

Refusing to confirm or deny the rumours, the firm told DigitalLook: "The company has made really good progress, and the share price has simply moved to where we feel it should be."

The Daily Mail, for its part, also speaks today of revived take-over rumours. The newspaper also calls attention to the company's operational update yesterday, in which the outfit said that all wells on Shaikan are apparently doing as expected or better while at Akri-Bijeel, despite encountering a dry hole, the company remains confident about prospects.

Of interest, some industry observers have been calling attention recently to forecasts for a strong increase in Iraq's oil production when looking out towards the mid-term, to close to 5 million barrels a day.

NR

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