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(Alliance News) - Touchstone Exploration Inc announced on Monday that it has begun operations at its Royston-1X sidetrack well at the onshore Ortoire block in Trinidad & Tobago.
Touchstone holds an 80% operating working interest in the well, with Heritage Petroleum Co Ltd holding the remaining 20%.
Royston-1X is a sidetrack well reentering the previously drilled Royston-1 well. It is expected to be drilled to a measured depth of 11,300 feet, targeting hydrocarbon accumulations in the Middle Miocene Herrera overthrust and subthrust sheets.
The Royston-1 exploration well was drilled in 2021 to a total depth of 10,700 feet and identified over 1,000 feet of Herrera section in the overthrust and intermediate sheets. It encountered light, sweet crude oil in both sheets.
President & Chief Executive Paul Baay said: "The Royston-1 well drilled in 2021 showed tremendous potential, flowing significant volumes of 33-degree API oil from both the overthrust and intermediate sheets; however, mechanical challenges prevented meaningful production from the well.
"The challenges encountered at Royston-1 and the lessons learnt have helped us to design a drilling plan to optimally evaluate the Herrera Formation. As we target the deeper level, our enhanced understanding of the structure will allow us to assess the full potential of the intermediate sheet, which was not fully penetrated or completed in Royston-1, as well as the subthrust sheet which is a prolific target in offsetting oil pools."
Shares in Touchstone Exploration were up 3.0% at 73.62 pence on Monday morning in London.
By Heather Rydings, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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