CALGARY, AB, Sept. 24, 2021 /CNW/ - Touchstone Exploration
Inc. ("Touchstone", "we", "our", "us" or the "Company") (TSX:
TXP) (LSE: TXP) reports that the Company has completed drilling the
Royston-1 exploration well and is
pleased to announce that the well encountered substantial
hydrocarbon accumulations based on drilling and wireline log data.
Touchstone has an 80 percent operating working interest in the
well, which is located on the Ortoire block onshore in the Republic
of Trinidad and Tobago. Heritage
Petroleum Company Limited ("Heritage") holds the remaining 20
percent working interest.
Highlights
- Royston-1 was drilled to a
total depth of 10,700 feet and is the deepest exploration well
drilled by Touchstone to date.
- Mud logging and wireline logs indicate hydrocarbon
accumulations in the Lower Cruse, Karamat and Herrera sections.
- The well encountered a total Herrera turbidite thickness of
1,014 feet (609 feet net sand) in two stacked thrust sheets.
- An aggregate 393 gross feet of hydrocarbon pay was identified
in two unique thrust sheets in the Herrera sands from 9,700 feet to
total depth, with wireline logs indicating that the well was in
hydrocarbon pay at total depth.
- The well is currently being cased and prepared for production
testing of the Herrera Formation.
Paul Baay, President and Chief
Executive Officer, commented:
"The Royston-1 well was the
fifth and final well of the first phase of our exploration drilling
program on the Ortoire block, with logging data indicating better
than expected results. The amount of identified hydrocarbon pay
further verifies the opportunity in the block for our future phase
two exploration program. Prior to drilling, we targeted 200 feet of
gross sand pay, with results almost doubling our expectations. The
team has commenced planning production testing operations in the
Herrera Formation using the same equipment that verified the
Cascadura discovery. I would also like to commend the team for
drilling the well safely and in adherence to all health protocols.
With the assistance of the new seismic and upcoming production
testing data, we anticipate this to be the largest geological
structure identified on the block in the Herrera
Formation."
The Royston-1 exploration well
was spud on August 12, 2021 using
Well Services Petroleum Ltd. Rig #60. The well was designed to
explore the potential of a thick sequence of Herrera sandstones
contained in an overthrust sheet which was observed in the
offsetting OL-4 well drilled by Shell Trinidad Limited in 1965. The
primary targets of the Royston-1
well were the Gr7a and Gr7bc Herrera sands in an upper thrust sheet
at an approximate measured depth of 9,700 feet. The Royston-1 well was designed to penetrate the
Herrera section that was observed but not tested in OL-4 at a
structurally optimized position based on legacy and new seismic
data and was drilled approximately 300 feet deeper to investigate a
lower thrust sheet identified by Touchstone's subsurface team.
Drilling samples and open hole wireline logs indicate that the
well encountered a significant Herrera turbidite package with a
total observed thickness of more than 1,000 feet. The overall
Herrera section drilled in Royston-1 contains approximately 609 feet of
clean sand, of which 393 gross feet in two unique thrust sheets
appear to be hydrocarbon pay based on mud gas logging and open hole
logs. Approximately 30 feet of hydrocarbon pay was detected in the
shallow Lower Cruse Formation, and 30 feet of pay was noted in the
Karamat Gr7a sands. Based on wireline logs, the Royston-1 well was hydrocarbon charged at the
well's total depth of 10,700 feet.
James Shipka, Chief Operating
Officer, commented:
"The Royston-1 well has
delivered on all accounts, confirming that the world-class Ortoire
Herrera Fairway is well developed through the Royston structure, and most importantly,
verifying the presence of hydrocarbons within these targeted
Herrera Formation sands. The Royston structure was reimaged by our recent
2D seismic survey revealing a SW-NE trending anticline measuring
nearly 7.2 kilometres in length and 1.8 kilometres in width.
The 393 feet of identified hydrocarbon pay exceeded our
objective, and while we believe the discovery to be natural gas, we
will wait for testing results to confirm. The testing results will
also provide us with deliverability capability as the porosity
measured at Royston-1 is lower
than Cascadura but similar to data seen at other offsetting
producing wells. The noteworthy hydrocarbon accumulations in
the lower Karamat sands give us additional insights into the
geological deposition and hydrocarbon migration in the Ortoire area
and are encouraging for our future second exploration phase. We
anticipate commencing production testing in late October and
providing full results when available."
The Royston-1 well was the
final exploration commitment under Touchstone's Ortoire Exploration
and Production Licence. The Company has an 80 percent working
interest in the licence but is responsible for 100 percent of the
drilling, completion and testing costs associated with the initial
five exploration wells. Heritage holds the remaining 20 percent
working interest. Touchstone had no reserves booked for the
Royston-1 well in the Company's
December 31, 2020 independent
reserves report. Further testing is required to determine the
economic viability and potential of the well, and the Company plans
to commence completion and production testing operations in
October 2021.
Touchstone Exploration Inc.
Touchstone Exploration Inc. is a Calgary, Alberta based company engaged in the
business of acquiring interests in petroleum and natural gas rights
and the exploration, development, production and sale of petroleum
and natural gas. Touchstone is currently active in onshore
properties located in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The Company's common
shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the AIM market
of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol "TXP".
Advisories
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information provided in this news release may constitute
forward-looking statements and information (collectively,
"forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable
securities laws. Such forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, forecasts, estimates, expectations and objectives for
future operations that are subject to assumptions, risks and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company.
Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical
facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words
"expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends",
"estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or
are events or conditions that "will", "would", "may", "could" or
"should" occur or be achieved.
Forward-looking statements in this news release may
include, but is not limited to, statements relating to the quality
and quantity of prospective hydrocarbon accumulations based on
internal interpretations of wireline logs; and the Company's
exploration plans and strategies, including future development and
exploration plans and anticipated production testing
operations and the timing thereof. Although the Company
believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the
forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance
should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the
Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct.
Since forward-looking statements address future events and
conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and
uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those
currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Certain
of these risks are set out in more detail in the Company's 2020
Annual Information Form dated March 25,
2021 which has been filed on SEDAR and can be accessed at
www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this
news release are made as of the date hereof, and except as may
be required by applicable securities laws, the Company assumes no
obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking
statements made herein or otherwise, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE Touchstone Exploration Inc.
