By: Kimberly Ramkhalawan
August 12, 2022
Onshore producers of oil and gas in Trinidad and Tobago, Touchstone Exploration, says it is closer to getting the official clearance for further development of its Cascadura field within the Ortoire block from its local Environment Management Authority.
The company shared the news as it expects the Certificate of Environmental Clearance for further exploration to be final by September 15, and comes almost one year since it began seeking the permit, while the company works on further development of its Coho and Cascadura wells.
President and CEO of Touchstone Exploration, Paul Baay speaking on Directors Talk, on the significance of the clearance drawing near, shared “It outlines the next five years of operations and what they can do”. He described the process as being painful to have to had reach to this point, but it allows the company to drill wells, build its gas facilities, and pipelines”, and added while “a very thorough and time-consuming process”, he expressed that he was “really happy that they can finally cross the line”. Despite the delays, the CEO/President says they have been pushing forward on two fronts, as they have continued to fabricate things that “are needed without actually going on the site, and remains hopeful that they will have production between now and the end of the year”.
In recent weeks, the company commissioned its Coho field, Baay says it is currently undergoing safety checks and flow of gas from the field before gas begins to pump through the facility. He added that the flow of gas from Coho represents new onshore gas in the last twenty years in Trinidad, and described the facility as constructed to accommodate 20m cubic feet a day, and the initial well at 8-10m cubic feet per day flow, with the expectation of bringing in a second well in near future.
He says the new permit will allow ramped up production and drilling at Cascadura and with allowances to drill up to eight new wells to fill the facility, with focus expected to continue here until 2023.
Touchstone submitted the remaining EIA documentation on August 3rd, with the EMA responding by August 5th confirming that documents were reviewed and deemed to be adequate to determine the outcome of the Company’s CEC application, while pursuant to statutory CEC rules, the EMA confirmed that a final CEC determination will be made by Sept. 15.
Earlier this week, Baay along with Exploration Manager, Xavier Moonan, met with TT Energy Minister Stuart Young at the Ministry’s offices to discuss progress on these fields.
Touchstone has an 80% operating working interest in the Ortoire block, with TT Heritage Petroleum Company Limited holding the remaining 20% working interest.
Talks between the two parties focused on its work programme and specifically the Coho and Cascadura wells, while the CEO provided details as to planned future drillings, potential future exploration and production. He also assured the Minister that both blocks will flow both liquids and gas for many years to come.
Minister Young expressed that he was pleased with the updates and expressed the continued willingness of the Government to work with Touchstone.
This week Touchstone Exploration shared its financial results for the second quarter of this year, ending June 30th.
The company said it achieved quarterly average crude oil production volumes of 1,420 barrels per day (“bbls/d”), representing a 2 percent increase relative to the preceding quarter and a 1 percent increase from the 1,402 bbls/d produced in the second quarter of 2021.
Meanwhile, its realized petroleum sales of $12,596,000 from an average crude oil price of $97.48 per barrel compared to petroleum sales of $7,586,000 from an average realized price of $59.06 per barrel in the comparative quarter of 2021.
The company explained this generated an operating netback of $44.99 per barrel, a 19 percent increase from the first quarter of 2022 and a 71 percent increase from the $26.30 per barrel reported in the second quarter of 2021.
To the results, Baay shared “this quarter represents the end of an era for the Company as a pure crude oil producer in Trinidad with the next quarter seeing a transition to a combination of oil and natural gas production from our Coho-1 gas well. Our team has maintained base production while remaining focused on our Coho and Cascadura 2 projects including associated commissioning operations and regulatory approvals, which are both progressing. Our Trinidad team successfully implemented our emergency response plan in response to the vandalism at Fyzabad which had a minimal impact to the environment and residents affected in the area but resulted in reclamation costs which we fully accrued for in the quarter. We will continue to complete the restoration required and work with our insurance provider to identify any costs that may be recoverable under our policy.”
This week London arm of US investment bank Stifel shared development of the Cascadura gas in Trinidad & Tobago ‘is the de facto step-change in expected earnings power’. Its analysts provided a brief assessment of prospects after the company on Monday with Stifel expecting the two wells from Cascadura to add 37.5mln cubic feet of gas (plus liquids) to Touchstone’s daily production profile.