The Carapal Ridge 3 well was successfully tied into Touchstone Exploration’s Central block natural gas facility and brought onstream. According to the company, the well is currently flowing natural gas and condensate as it continues to recover drilling and completion fluids.
Since the Central block acquisition, gross natural gas throughput (excluding Coho-1 volumes) has increased from approximately 16 MMcf/d to 19 MMcf/d through optimization, rising further to approximately 21.5 MMcf/d following the startup of CR-3. During the current cleanup phase, CR-3 has demonstrated intermittent peak rates of up to 5.7 MMcf/d during liquid offloading.
Touchstone also indicated that the Cascadura facility booster compressor successfully completed run testing in Houston. The unit is currently in transit to Trinidad, with arrival at port expected in April 2026 and commissioning targeted for May 2026.
The company also successfully drilled the FR-1835 well on the WD-8 block, encountering approximately 290 feet of net pay. The drilling rig has since spudded the second well in a four-well campaign.
Paul R. Baay, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our current strategy is twofold: maximizing the utilization of existing excess capacity in our processing facilities through targeted drilling and deploying capital toward our highest-priced sales contracts to optimize project returns. The CR-3 well achieves both objectives, adding immediate production while allowing us to benefit from strengthening LNG market fundamentals and improved pricing.
As the first new well in the field in over 17 years, our team was successful in bringing CR-3 online and into the plant. In line with the performance of historical wells in this field, the cleanup process is expected to take several weeks, and we will provide further updates as stabilized rates are established.
The Central block acquisition has successfully marked our entry into the LNG market. By increasing throughput without incurring additional incremental operating costs, we are leveraging our infrastructure to capture higher-value sales. Simultaneously, our legacy crude oil blocks continue to provide low-risk production growth, funded by the strategic disposition of non-core assets last year. Finally, the upcoming Cascadura compressor installation is a vital investment that is expected to stabilize short-term production and extend the long-term economic life of the field."