Touchstone Exploration (LSE:TXP) sat at 12.9p this morning after revealing that year-on-year oil sales grew by more than a quarter in the last three months of 2018.
In an operational update, the firm said crude oil sales average 1,851bbls/d in Q4 2018, up 28pc on the 1,448bbls/d produced in the same period in 2017. Meanwhile, realised average 2018 annual crude oil sales came in at 1,718bbls/d. This is a 25pc increase on 2017 annual sales.
The release will be followed by a live online investor presentation and Q&A session tonight (15 January) from Touchstone president and chief executive Paul Baay.
The presentation, which will be hosted by ValueTheMarkets.com, will start at 7pm GMT and can be accessed through the following link: https://vtm.clickmeeting.com/txp.
The webcast will be recorded and made available on ValueTheMarkets.com after the event.
This morning’s update also saw Touchstone detail operational progress, production figures, and drilling results for the final quarter of 2018. Finally, the firm updated investors on plans for its highly prospective Ortoire block.
Touchstone drilled a total of 11 development wells and performed 28 well recompletions in 2018, confirming its position as the most active onshore upstream company in Trinidad. These helped to contribute to strong average production of 1,900bbls/d over the first 13 days of 2019.
In the fourth quarter of 2018, the organisation drilled three development wells. Two of these are based on its WD-8 block while one is located on the WD-4 block.
On WD-8, the FR-1800 and FR-1801 wells were successfully drilled and completed with wireline logs indicating the presence of c.588 feet and 306 feet of net oil pay respectively. Both wells are currently flowing at a combined average field estimated production rate of c.242 bbls/d. It is anticipated that initial flush production rates will likely decrease as the wells are placed on pump during Q1 2019.
The PS-605 well on the WD-4 block reached a total depth of 7,250 over Christmas and wireline logs indicate the presence of approximately 608 feet of net oil pay. Completion operations have commenced on the well and are expected to conclude by early February.
The Ortoire Block
Touchstone is also gearing up to explore the potential of its Ortoire block further in 2019. Ortoire is situated to the east of the company’s current producing blocks and consists of turbidite deposits. These are deep deposits formed by massive gravity flows that can turn into vast hydrocarbon reserves.
The business expects to start drilling at Ortoire in the first half of 2019. Its first target will likey be Corosan, a prospect located just north of Shell’s Carapal Ridge discovery. Carapal Ridge is Trinidad’s largest onshore gas-condensate discovery in 50 years.
Touchstone is in the process of obtaining all regulatory approvals required to drill the deposits. To drill a well, one must first obtain a well location certificate of environmental compliance (CEC) and then apply for a standard well drilling licence.
Documentation for four CECs, which represent a total of 14 drilling locations, has been submitted. One of these, covering four drilling locations, has already been approved. Touchstone anticipates that a second CEC for four additional locations will get the green light within the next 30 days.
Evaluation reports on three identified prospects have also been commissioned. The reports, to be provided by independent external reserve evaluators, will assist in validating technical data associated with the prospects. Touchstone plans to publish a summary of the findings when finalised.
On today’s update, Baay said: “We are very pleased to continue to deliver positive production results, as evidenced by our 25% year over year oil sales growth. As we move into 2019, we are seeking to prioritize the exciting exploration opportunities we have identified at Ortoire together with the predictable development drilling inventory we have amassed to date.”
