Trinity Exploration & Production PLC on Monday said that operational challenges had slowed production at its Jacobin oil discovery project.

Shares in Trinity were down 13% at 34.78 pence each in London on Monday afternoon.

The exploration and production company, focused on oil projects in Trinidad and Tobago, safely perforated the two Lower Cruse 1 zones in November.

The well initially flowed ‘clean black oil with a very high tubing head pressure.’ However, ‘considerable volumes’ of gas were also produced, something Trinity said it did not anticipate. The company said this issue was managed by the injection of speciality chemicals at the wellhead and the diversion of the well into a separator to allow for accurate flow rate measurement.

The well flow rate was initially unstable and has begun to decline in recent days. In an effort to address this, Trinity said it will undertake a number of data-gathering exercises, beginning with a pressure gradient survey in the next week.

It said data-gathering exercises will be completed in January 2024, and will inform how best to optimise production from the well. The results will also influence the decision-making process for Trinity’s Beunos Ayres licence, where it intends to drill another exploration well in 2024.

Trinity added that the oil tested at the new wells ‘is of good quality,’ with American Petroleum Institute density measured at 31.7 degrees at 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Now that Trinity has perforated Lower Cruse 1 zones, the majority of key Jacobin activities have been completed. The company now estimates the costs incurred to be $8.3 million, of which $6.2 million has already been paid. There is also a cost of $2.3 million outside of the drilling contract provisions related to costs incurred during the drilling of the well. Trinity said it expects to settle the total cost of the well ‘without recourse to any external finance.’

Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Bridglalsingh said: ‘The well has reinforced our confidence in the potential of the deeper play despite the operational challenges encountered with the Jacobin well...Our work now will be to gather further data that will inform next steps in terms of establishing the full production potential of the well.’

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