NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd., an explorer in Algeria and Kurdistan, said its full-year net loss widened last year on lower oil prices and an impairment charge.

The loss widened to $59 million from $29.9 million in 2007, the Bermuda-based company said yesterday in a statement distributed by the Regulatory News Service.

Crude oil dropped from a peak above $147 a barrel in July to $44 a barrel at the end of last year. The charge was related to Algerian licences, Keystone said.

The company said it's seeking new funding because its portfolio of assets has expenditure commitments that "significantly exceed" financial resources.

Gulf Keystone fell as much as 15 percent to 11.5 pence in London, the steepest intraday drop since April 17. It traded at 12.5 pence as of 11.54 a.m. local time.

Resources available will be sufficient for the company to continue as a going concern for the "foreseeable future" only after taking into account proceeds from an asset sale, farm-out of its oil and gas interests and possibly a share placing, according to the statement.

Gulf Keystone said the latest results include a charge of $37.2 million from the expiration of an exploration licence on Block 129 in Algeria and lower future cash flows for its GKN and GKS licences. There was also a "negative adjustment" of $2.5 million to reflect lower realised oil prices on 2007 sales.