Primera Oil and Gas Limited, a subsidiary of Touchstone Exploration Inc., has formally commenced the Rio Claro license, it said on November 5.
The six-year license includes a financial obligation of US$2.4 million, which covers the execution of five geological studies, processing of 3D seismic, and three exploration wells. Primera’s 80% operating interest is accompanied by a 20% interest owned by a subsidiary of the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC).
However, Primera is responsible for 100% of the minimum work commitments and financial obligations in the initial six-year period. The license can be extended by 19 years for areas where commercial discoveries are approved by the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries of Trinidad and Tobago.
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Located adjacent to Touchstone’s Ortoire Block, the Rio Claro acreage surrounds the Balata East field, marking an extension of Touchstone’s exploration and development focus within the Herrera Formation fairway. Touchstone said that proprietary seismic data highlights several promising Herrera Formation anomalies, which extend from the Ortoire Block into the Rio Claro acreage, situated in structurally favorable up-dip positions. Touchstone said it is notable that its Cascadura-3ST1 discovery within the Ortoire Block appears to extend into the Rio Claro Block. Furthermore, seismic interpretation reveals that both the Royston anomaly in the Herrera Formation and the Kraken anomaly in the Cretaceous Formation extend into the Rio Claro acreage.
Touchstone expects that any future discoveries of liquid hydrocarbons or natural gas within the Rio Claro Block can be seamlessly integrated into production with existing sales infrastructure at Ortoire and Balata East.
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While there is potential to integrate potential future discoveries at Rio Claro with existing infrastructure at Ortoire, Touchstone said the resources would be marketed under a distinct natural gas arrangement, separate from the existing Ortoire agreement.
Paul Baay, Touchstone’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The issuance of the Rio Claro license aligns with the commencement of production from the Cascadura C well pad… Subject to regulatory approvals, we anticipate drilling the first commitment well on this block originating from the Cascadura pad C surface location and targeting a bottom-hole location within the new Rio Claro license.”
