Touchstone has announced very encouraging results from their latest round of testing on the Cascadura-1ST1 reservoir. According to the company, gas analysis indicated sweet, liquids-rich natural gas with no hydrogen sulfide and no entrained water.

In addition, based on the data obtained during both tests, the Cascadura-1ST1 reservoir appears to be unbounded within the area of investigation, confirming a larger pool than originally anticipated.

The company has stated that the absolute open flow potential (AOFP) modelling indicates that it is reasonable to design for an initial gross production rate of between 7,750 and 9,700 boe/d (6,200 to 7,760 boe/d net) based on estimated gross rates of 40 to 50 MMcf/d of natural gas and 1,100 to 1,400 boe/d of condensate.

James Shipka, Chief Operating Officer, said, ‘We are extremely pleased with the final testing data and GLJ's independent analysis of the stage one and stage two information as both confirm the tremendous potential of the Cascadura- 1ST1 discovery. The low sandface drawdown, high reservoir pressure, and rapid recovery, suggest a sizeable reservoir with excellent production potential. With minimal drawdown observed while flowing and with no boundaries seen in the analysis, the pressure data confirms that the Cascadura pool is larger than the area of investigation observed during the tests. On this basis, we will likely require additional drilling and production at Cascadura, to fully understand and optimise production from the structure. We are now working with GLJ to complete an independent reserves evaluation for the Cascadura feature, which we expect in July. The evaluation will use the test data along with wireline logs, analogous pool data, offset production and seismic to properly assign reserves to the pool.

According to Shipka, ‘The team remains on course to begin drilling at our next prospect, Chinook, in July, where we are keen to explore a separate structure along the same geological trend. With several near-term catalysts for the company, now is an exciting time for Touchstone, and we look forward to updating all our stakeholders in due course’.

Touchstone holds 80% working interest and is the operator, while Heritage Petroleum Company Limited holds 20% working interest in Cascadura 1ST1.