Touchstone Exploration announces that the initial Royston-1X production test of the least prospective section of the well confirmed the presence of light crude oil at non-commercial rates. Touchstone has an 80 percent operating working interest in the well, which is located on the Ortoire block onshore in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Heritage Petroleum Company Limited holds the remaining 20 percent working interest.

The first of potentially five production tests of the Royston-1X well evaluated the lowest and least prospective section in the subthrust sheet of the Herrera Formation at depths between 11,102 and 11,168 feet. During testing, the well did not flow oil to surface. Swabbed volumes were analyzed by a third party confirming 40 degrees API gravity formation crude oil, representing the deepest oil encountered on the Ortoire block to date. This section of the formation appears to be a low permeability reservoir, and further testing will not be conducted.

Touchstone will continue testing operations with potentially four additional tests targeting an aggregate 384 gross feet, with a program to evaluate each identified sand interval independently. The next well test will target a gross interval of 70 feet in the middle portion of the subthrust sheet and will be performed with a service rig. Testing operations at this interval will commence once the drilling rig is moved to the Cascadura C location, which we anticipate occurring in late May when civil operations at the Cascadura C location are scheduled to complete.

Paul Baay, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"We are encouraged that the initial test of the Royston-1X well successfully confirmed the presence of light oil in the subthrust sheet, validating our internal wireline log analysis. The test results and crude oil analysis have been crucial to establish the extent of the hydrocarbon column penetrated by the wellbore, providing valuable baseline information for evaluating the log data and defining future testing intervals. 

The future production tests target uphole zones with a focus on productive capability and ultimate development potential. As each test will be performed independently, we expect a number of months of testing upon commencement of the second test. We will update the market when results become available." 

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