Touchstone Hails Strong Flow Rate in Trinidad
London-listed Touchstone Exploration reported on November 18 higher-than-expected flow rates during tests at the Coho-1 well onshore Trinidad, where it made a discovery back in September.
The well at the Ortoire block flowed dry, sweet gas at a peak rate of 19.8mn ft3/day and an average rate of 17.5mn ft3/day, Touchstone said in a stock filing. The Calgary-based explorer added that water production was significantly below what it had anticipated ahead of testing.
Touchstone CEO Paul Baay hailed the result as marking a “new era” for the company, which has been producing oil in Trinidad since 2010, adding significant gas volumes to its production base.
“The results outline the opportunities that still exist for onshore Trinidad exploration and position Touchstone to become a top three onshore petroleum producer,” he said in a statement.
Coho-1 is targeting the smallest prospect in the Ortoire exploration programme, he said. It will be tied via a 3-km pipeline to an existing production facility and brought on stream in the first half of 2020, according to the CEO.
Touchstone has an 80% stake in the Ortoire block, while the remaining interest is held by Trinidad and Tobago’s state-owned Heritage Petroleum. The pair are currently drilling a second well at the site, Cascadura-1, which is targeting oil zones. A further two wells are planned in their Ortoire drilling campaign.