Ownership Submission
FORM 3
 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  McCown Michael
 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
06/07/2013		 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
GASTAR EXPLORATION LTD [GST]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
1331 LAMAR ST, SUITE 650		 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
Senior VP & COO
 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

HOUSTON, TX 77010		 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)		 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Restricted Shares 301,931
D
 
Common shares 12,500
D
 

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Performance Based Units   (1)   (1) Common Stock 133,621 (2) (3) $ (1) D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
McCown Michael
1331 LAMAR ST
SUITE 650
HOUSTON, TX 77010		       Senior VP & COO  

Signatures

/s/ Michael A. Gerlich, as Attorney in Fact 06/10/2013
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) Not applicable.
(2) Performance Based Units ("PBUs"): Vesting is ratable over the three year performance period, with settlement in common stock between 0% and 200% (**subject to limitations discussed in Footnote 3 below) of the target award based on Gastar's share price appreciation over a three year performance period relative to a peer index. Share price appreciation is measured generally as the change in market value of common stock during the performance period. The PBUs have no voting rights but provide for dividend equivalents to be paid upon vesting.
(3) The number of PBUs reported (133,621) represents the target award. As such, the number of shares that may be issued upon vesting ranges from 0 shares to 267,242 shares. **As discussed in Footnote 2 above, at the end of the performance period, the participant may earn up to 200% of the target award, subject to a maximum award limitation of one million (1,000,000) shares that may be issued to any individual in a calendar year under the Gastar Exploration Ltd. 2006 Long-Term Stock Incentive Plan, as amended.

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