Gulf Keystone Petroleum is facing a legal battle over its Iraqi oil fields, after an advisory company run by a former US special forces officer filed a claim for up to 30pc of its lucrative reserves.
The £1.25bn AIM-listed explorer saw its share price dive 17 to 167½p after disclosing that it is strongly contesting a suit filed 12 days ago in London’s Commercial Court. It has also been hit with a request for arbitration proceedings in New York.