Interview with Paul Baay, President & CEO of Touchstone Exploration Inc.

Recording date: 28th February 2025

Trinidad and Tobago's natural gas sector presents a compelling investment case for companies with the right expertise and approach. Despite being a small nation, Trinidad punches above its weight in the global energy market due to its strategic location near the resource-rich Venezuelan Basin, well-developed infrastructure, and supportive regulatory environment.

The country's energy landscape is split between offshore operations led by international oil majors and onshore projects driven by smaller independent companies. This creates a niche opportunity for firms that can successfully navigate the local framework while leveraging modern technologies to unlock value in underexplored onshore assets.

Touchstone Exploration, a Canadian company focused solely on Trinidad, exemplifies the three-stage approach to natural gas development that can generate attractive returns: land acquisition to secure resources, infrastructure control for processing and market access advantages, and targeted drilling to convert reserves to production and cash flow.

Trinidad's natural gas wells are characterized by strong initial production rates followed by steep declines before stabilizing at lower long-term levels. This profile front-loads cash flows, enabling quick capital recovery. However, it requires technical expertise to manage reservoir characteristics and optimize recovery.

The investment case is enhanced by Trinidad's domestic natural gas supply deficit, which ensures producers have a guaranteed market for their output. Recent changes allowing access to LNG export markets at prices several times higher than domestic rates further amplifies the upside. Producers also benefit from sales in US dollars and relatively low royalty rates.

Maintaining discipline in capital allocation is critical, balancing self-funded development with exploration upside. Near-term value comes from efficiently developing proven reserves, while the untapped deeper Cretaceous formations provide longer-term potential that could be transformational.

Touchstone's acquisition of Shell's onshore infrastructure, 229 drilling locations, rapid payback model, and clear growth trajectory to 7,000 boe/d makes it a leading investment opportunity in Trinidad's natural gas sector. As global gas demand expands, Trinidad's unique mix of low-risk development and step-change upside could offer compelling risk-adjusted returns for energy investors.

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