By Joel Julien
Copyright trinidadexpress
TOUCHSTONE Exploration has announced that it intends to sell its non-core Fyzabad oil property by the end of 2025 as part of its strategy to focus on core assets.
Touchstone made the statement in its latest operations update.
“Touchstone has entered into a sale and purchase agreement to dispose of its non-core Fyzabad oil property to a third-party Trinidad-based company,” it stated.
According to Touchstone, the Fyzabad property averaged 37 barrels per day (bbls/d) of net production in August 2025 and offered limited scalability within the company’s portfolio.
“Transaction consideration consists of three turnkey drilling wells to be drilled across Touchstone’s WD-8 and WD-4 blocks. Under the agreement, the purchaser will drill the wells while Touchstone supplies certain ancillary drilling and completion equipment,” Touchstone stated.
“Two wells are currently scheduled for drilling before year-end 2025, with the third well planned for the first quarter of 2026. Closing of the Fyzabad disposition is expected in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to customary regulatory approvals,” it stated.
According to its 2024 annual report, Touchstone stated that its non-core Fyzabad exploration and production licence contained no minimum work obligations and expires in August 2032.
In addition to its non-core Fyzabad assets, Touchstone has exploration and production licences with the Ministry of Energy covering its Fyzabad producing property and the Charuma, Cipero, Ortoire, and Rio Claro exploration fields..
“The licences typically are for an initial six-year term, with the option to extend certain acreage a further 19 years upon an approved commercial discovery,” it stated,
Touchstone’s decision to sell the assets aligns with its 2024 annual report, which outlined plans to divest non-core holdings
“Touchstone continually assesses the value and mix of its assets in light of the company’s business plans and strategic objectives. In this regard, at times, non-core assets may be periodically disposed of, so the company can focus its efforts and resources more efficiently,” Touchstone stated.
“Depending on the state of the market for such non-core assets, certain non-core assets of the company may realise less on disposition than its related carrying value on the consolidated financial statements of the company,” it stated.
In June last year, Touchstone exchanged its working interests in various private leases in the non-core San Francique property for the counterparty’s 100% working interest in a licence with Heritage governing the Balata East block.
“The San Francique property was deemed non-core due to its geographic location and significant future decommissioning obligations,” it stated.
Cascadura challenges
Apart from the pending sale, Touchstone announced that drilling operations at the onshore Cascadura field recently faced unexpected challenges.
The company in its latest operations update stated that these challenges forced work at the Cascadura-4ST2 well to be halted earlier than planned and short of the initial target.
“Operations at Cascadura-4ST2 resumed on August 16, 2025, utilising Star Valley Drilling Rig #205, and the well reached a total depth of 5,896 feet on September 22, 2025. The well, now designated Cascadura4ST2X, was originally programmed to evaluate the Herrera Gr7bc sands to a depth of approximately 6,100 feet,” Touchstone stated.
“However, after encountering gas-charged sands in the lower portion of the well, circulation was lost, leading the company to conclude drilling operations earlier than planned,” it stated.
Touchstone said things worsened during the pull-out operations.
Despite these complications, the company announced it would complete the well.
“During the pull-out, the drill string became stuck and, despite extensive recovery efforts, could not be freed. The company has elected to complete the well for production using a combination of casing and the drill string, enabling access to the gas-charged intervals identified while drilling,” Touchstone stated.
“Although open-hole logs could not be acquired, offset well data and real-time drilling information confirm that the well intersected Herrera Gr7bc sands consistent with the company’s geological model,” it stated.
Touchstone stated that was the third well in the Cascadura “A” block to encounter this type of sand.
“The primary objective of the well was the Herrera Gr7bc sands, which are widespread across the Cascadura structure. Cascadura-4ST2X represents the third well drilled into the ‘A’ block of Cascadura to encounter sands within the targeted reservoir,” Touchstone stated.
According to its website, Touchstone says that the Cascadura field represents a remarkable onshore discovery in Trinidad, marking one of the most significant finds in decades.
It said in response to the discovery, Touchstone constructed a natural gas and liquids processing facility that has been designed to produce 200 MMcf/d of natural gas and 5,000 bbls/d.
Touchstone said its objective is to drill an additional six wells, spread across two well pads, with the aim of boosting production.
Cascadura development
“Completion operations on the Cascadura-5 well will immediately commence. All tie-in equipment is on location and the well will be tested directly through the Cascadura natural gas facility following completion. Cas-4ST2X will undergo final completion and tie-in once equipment and a service rig are on site,” Touchstone stated.
Touchstone stated that following completion of Pad B operations, the drilling rig will move to the Central block location identified as Carapal Ridge-3, where site construction is approximately 60% complete.
Touchstone stated that the location is expected to be drill-ready by the end of this month.
“In parallel, the company has secured a compressor for the Cascadura facility to further enhance natural gas processing. The project is currently expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2025,” it stated.
Touchstone’s president and chief executive officer Paul Baay said with drilling complete on Pad B at Cascadura, the company is moving rapidly into the completion and tie-in phase.
“While Cas-4ST2X presented challenges due to re-entering a previous wellbore, the systems implemented on the Cas-5 well have proven effective. We remain confident in our ability to drive repeatable cost and efficiency gains at Cascadura and across our Central block programme,” Baay stated.
“Touchstone stated that production volumes averaged 5,152 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) in August 2025, compared with 5,300 boe/d in July and 5,088 boe/d in June.”
In August, Touchstone’s production included 21.7 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of net natural gas, equivalent to 3,623 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), and 1,529 barrels per day (bbls/d) of net crude oil and liquids.
