Touchstone Exploration got off to a storming start to the new year with shares surging on positive drill results. The firm has reported encouraging results from its Carapal Ridge-3 development well in Trinidad and Tobago, the first well drilled into the pool in nearly two decades.
The well encountered approximately 1,082 feet of net sand, including around 1,000 feet of net Herrera sand, with wireline logging and drilling data indicating hydrocarbon-bearing sands throughout the interval.
CR-3 targeted both producing Herrera sands above a 30-foot shale marker and previously untested sands below it. The well discovered roughly 635 feet of net sand in the developed reservoir and 365 feet in the unproduced section, with drilling terminated at 8,200 feet whilst still in clean sand.
During drilling, the well naturally built angle and approximately 341 feet was drilled horizontally into the unproduced Herrera package, optimising reservoir exposure. The horizontal section will be produced initially, with uphole sands potentially perforated later.
“The CR-3 well is our inaugural development well on the Central block and the first well drilled on the field in over 17 years. The well was executed successfully by our drilling team and represents our first horizontal well drilled into the Herrera reservoir,” said Paul R. Baay, President and Chief Executive Officer.
“As anticipated, CR-3 encountered hydrocarbon-bearing sands both below and above a key shale marker. We intend to initially produce from the lower horizontal section of the well, with significant volumes of uphole sands available for potential future perforation. While the well has resulted in thick pay zone across multiple horizons, the ultimate deliverability will not be known until the well is completed and tied into the facility. Several variables will influence performance, including the fact that the formation has not previously been produced from a horizontal well and the management of downhole pressures.”