Touchstone Exploration, an independent company based in Calgary, has advanced towards exploring two additional blocks in Trinidad & Tobago. This Caribbean nation is a crucial area for the London-listed company, which began gas production at its Cascadura asset in September 2023. According to Touchstone, Cascadura represents the largest onshore development in the country in decades, with the company producing approximately 5400 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first quarter of 2024, 95% of which was natural gas.
On Tuesday, Touchstone announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Primera Oil & Gas, finalised its entry into exploration and production licences for the Cipero and Charuma onshore blocks as of 1 July 2024. These blocks were awarded to Primera in 2022 after Trinidad & Tobago’s onshore and nearshore competitive bid round. Primera will hold an 80% interest in these blocks, with the National Gas Company of Trinidad & Tobago holding the remaining 20% stake.
The new licences, similar to Touchstone’s licence for the 184-square-kilometre Ortoire onshore block in southeastern Trinidad, have initial six-year exploration terms. They can be extended by an additional 19 years for the development of areas with a commercial discovery, as approved by the Trinidad & Tobago Ministry of Energy & Energy Industries.
Touchstone’s financial commitment for exploration on the Charuma block is $4.8 million, while it stands at $2.2 million for the Cipero block. Four exploration wells are planned for Cipero, and one well for Charuma, along with the acquisition of new 3D seismic data for Charuma. For Cipero, reprocessing of legacy 2D seismic data is expected to suffice for identifying drilling locations for the planned wells. Primera will bear 100% of the exploration minimum work commitments and financial obligations during the initial six-year exploration term of the licences.
Touchstone Exploration Inc (LON:TXP) is a Canadian-based, international upstream oil and gas company currently active in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Primera Oil and Gas is the Trinidadian subsidiary of Touchstone.
