SANTIAGO, Chile, May 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- GeoPark Holdings Limited ("GeoPark"), the Latin American oil and gas explorer, operator and consolidator with operations and producing properties in Chile, Colombia and Argentina (AIM: GPK), is pleased to announce that it has been awarded seven new licenses in the Brazilian Round 11 held yesterday. The awarded blocks include:

In the Reconcavo Basin in the State of Bahia:

• Block REC-T 94
• Block REC-T 85

In the Potiguar Basin in the State of Rio Grande do Norte:

• Block POT-T 664
• Block POT-T 665
• Block POT-T 619
• Block POT-T 620
• Block POT-T 663

The licensing round was organized by the Brazilian National Petroleum, National Gas and Biofuels Agency ("ANP"), and all proceedings and bids have been made public. The winning bids are subject to confirmation of qualification requirements.

For its winning bids on the seven blocks, GeoPark has committed to invest a minimum of US$15.3 million (including bonus and work program commitment) during the first 3 years of exploratory period. The new blocks cover an area of approximately 54,850 acres.

Commenting, James F. Park, CEO of GeoPark, said: "We congratulate our geoscience and engineering teams for their efforts and success in winning these blocks. Our entry into Brazil - with an attractive platform of risk-balanced assets - represents an important step forward in GeoPark's consistent growth strategy throughout Latin America. The award of these blocks provides an attractive exploration upside to GeoPark's stable production acquisition made by GeoPark in Brazil today."

In accordance with the AIM Rules, the information in this announcement has been reviewed by Dimas Coelho, a PhD geophysicist with 32 years of oil and gas experience and Brazil Country Director of GeoPark.

GeoPark can be visited online at www.geo-park.com 

For further information please contact:

SOURCE GeoPark