(Trinidad Express) Trinity Exploration has struck oil.
In a release yesterday, Trinidad and Tobago’s largest independent exploration and production company announced its third exploratory drill had hit black gold in the TGAL-1 well, off Galeota on Trinidad’s southeast coast.
Initial estimates show the reservoir contains a production range of 50 million to 115 million barrels of oil. TGAL-1 was spudded on October 31 to target an updip extension of the producing Trintes Field, using the Rowan Gorilla III jack-up rig.
The well was drilled to a total depth of 5,694 feet, intersecting five targets all containing good quality oil bearing reservoir sands. The TGAL-1 well encountered a total of 547 feet net oil sands containing high quality 28-30 degree API oil.
The API or American Petroleum Institute gravity is a standard measure of density to determine how heavy or light the petroleum deposits are. The higher the density (that is, the lighter the oil) the more valuable it is. This find may be classified as medium to light crude oil. Generally speaking, crude oil with density range of 40 to 45 commands the highest prices. Trinidad and Tobago’s East Coast wells generally produce a “light sweet crude” (sweet means a low sulphur content) with an average API rating of 38 degrees.
Trinity acquired the Galeota Licence after its merger with Bayfield Energy Holdings earlier this year. Last March Bayfield struck oil with its first exploratory well, EG8, in the same block. The production estimates for that find were 32 million.
Galeota Licence provided for seven exploratory wells. TGAL-1 was the third venture. The company’s second exploration venture was unsuccessful.
Nevertheless, Trinity’s two out of three success already surpasses the usual odds of one well in seven striking oil.
The Trinity Group has a 65 per cent interest in the Galeota Licence, with Petrotrin holding the remaining 35 per cent.
With discovery, the company said it will now be assessing appraisal and development options. Production on the well is expected to begin by 2015.
It also started drilling another exploratory well on Friday — the El Dorado well — this time off the southwest coast in the Gulf of Paria.
In a brief interview yesterday, Trinity’s chief executive officer Joel “Monty” Pemberton called the discovery “exciting”, adding that the company’s exploration work showed the role of independence in the sector.
“There is a lot of potential in underdeveloped acreage. This might not have been a big a find as the other (bigger energy companies) but it shows the potential here still in Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.
Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine, in brief remarks during a Mining symposium yesterday at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain, said it was “good news” for the country, coming at a good time like Christmas.
“It’s good for the economy and the country,” he said.
Trinity is a publicly traded company on the AIM market on the London Stock Exchange. The company ended a positive day of trading closing the day at £144.00 per unit.
