Touchstone Exploration has discovered non-commercial rates of light crude oil at Royston-1X well, located in the Ortoire block, onshore Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Touchstone discovers oil at Royston-1X well. (Credit: Mihai on Unsplash)
The initial production test at the Royston-1X well, the first among the planned five production tests, assessed the least prospective section of the subthrust sheet of the Herrera Formation.
It involved depths of 11,102ft to 11,168ft, confirming the presence of light crude oil at the Royston-1X well, which did not flow oil to the surface during testing.
A third-party entity analysed swabbed volumes and confirmed 40 degrees API gravity formation crude oil, which indicates the deepest oil encountered on the Ortoire block to date.
The Canadian petroleum and natural gas company believes that this section of the formation is a low permeability reservoir, and further testing will not be conducted.
Touchstone intends to continue testing operations with four additional tests targeting an average of 384ft, with plans to independently evaluate each identified sand interval.
The company’s next well test will target a gross interval of 70ft in the middle portion of the subthrust sheet and will be carried out using a service rig.
Its testing operations will commence once the drilling rig is moved to the Cascadura C location after civil operations are completed, which is expected in late May this year.
Touchstone Exploration president and chief executive officer Paul Baay said: “We are encouraged that the initial test of the Royston-1X well successfully confirmed the presence of light oil in the subthrust sheet, validating our internal wireline log analysis.
“The test results and crude oil analysis have been crucial to establishing the extent of the hydrocarbon column penetrated by the wellbore, providing valuable baseline information for evaluating the log data and defining future testing intervals.
“As each test will be performed independently, we expect a number of months of testing upon commencement of the second test. We will update the market when results become available.”
Based in Calgary, Alberta, Touchstone Exploration is engaged in the exploration, development, production and sale of petroleum and natural gas, and acquiring related rights.
The company owns an 80% operating interest in the well, while Heritage Petroleum Company holds the remaining 20% working interest.
