PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Canada-based Touchstone Exploration Inc says its Carapal Ridge 3 (CR-3) well in Trinidad has been successfully tied into the Central block natural gas facility brought on stream last weekend and 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…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 clean-up phase, CR-3 has demonstrated intermittent peak rates of up to 5.7 MMcf/d during liquid offloading,” the company said in a statement, noting that the Cascadura facility booster compressor completed run testing in Houston and is currently in transit to Trinidad, with arrival at port expected in April and commissioning targeted for May this year.
Touchstone said it had 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.
It said average net sales volumes for January and February 2026 were 4,778 boe/d, consisting of approximately 20.5 MMcf/d of natural gas and 1,357 bbls/d of crude oil and liquids, it added.
“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,” said Touchstone’s president and chief executive officer, Paul R Baay.
He said 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 clean-up process is expected to take several weeks, and we will provide further updates as stabilized rates are established.”
Baay said that the Central Block acquisition has successfully marked the company’s 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”, he said.
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