Directors’ report | 11
innovative technology for floating offshore wind
systems (“WCS technology”). The wind turbines
are designed for all weather conditions, with the
potential to produce electricity at a significantly
lower cost and with substantially less use of
space than any other known technology today.
Together with its key technology partner Aibel
AS and IFE (Institute for Energy Technology),
and with support from Innovasjon Norge, the
company intends to finalize and commercialize
the WCS technology. The company continues to
develop its organization in parallel with maturing
the technology and concept together with its
key technology partners Aibel and IFE.
The development of the Windcatching
technology is progressing as expected. The
first stage of the wind tunnel testing in Milano,
aimed at verifying some of the key design
features, was completed during the summer
of 2021. The results were encouraging, and
the company has now verified that the tested
design features revealed results on par with,
or better than, assumptions used in the wind
energy model. Further engineering work will
continue in 2022 with key areas of focus being
marine engineering and equipment design in
partnership with Tier 1 equipment providers to
optimize the operating performance of the unit.
Discussions are also ongoing with respect to
future client adoption for the WCS concept.
Coho-1 was the first well drilled in the 5-well
programme on the Ortoire Block. The company
estimates the net future production rate from
Coho-1 to be in the range from 1,300 – 1,600
barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, which will
double the company’s overall production.
The two Cascadura wells are targeted for
production in the third quarter of 2022. The
company estimates the net future production
rate from Cascadura to be in the range of 10,000
– 13,000 boe per day, with additional upside from
future development wells.
Touchstone expects production from the Ortoire
block to increase cash flow significantly and
contribute to a substantial reduction in volatility
of future earnings. Based on the natural gas
sales agreement with the National Gas Company
of Trinidad and Tobago, Touchstone has secured
offtake for all natural gas produced from the
Ortoire license.
The Touchstone share has in 2021 depreciated
by 24%, measured in NOK. North Energy has a
shareholding of 6% in the company and is not
represented in any of Touchstone’s governing
bodies.
Investment in Wind Catching Systems AS
In March 2021, North Energy declared its option
to invest an additional NOK 10.0 million in Wind
Catching Systems AS (WCS), which holds a new
During the fourth quarter, the company
announced the completion of drilling of the
Royston-1 exploration well and the drilling results.
The well, which is the deepest exploration well
drilled by Touchstone to date, encountered
substantial hydrocarbon accumulations. An
aggregate of 393 gross feet of hydrocarbon pay
was identified in two unique thrusts sheets in the
Herrera GR7 and GR7bc sands. The three planned
production tests of Royston-1 confirmed a light oil
discovery both in the lowermost section and the
upper most section of the well. The company plans
to perform an extended production test designed
to assess optimal flowing conditions to maximize
production and data collection. Additional
information from the long-term production test is
anticipated during the first quarter 2022.
Middle Miocene turbidite deposits have
historically been prolific producers onshore
Trinidad. As highlighted by the company, the
Royston-1 well did not target the best sands in
the lower intermediate Herrera GR7a sheet and
future wells are likely to be optimized to target
these sections. A light oil discovery in Royston-1
also bodes well for the Krakken well planned for
2022, in which the company intends to target a
very large cretaceous turbidite play similar to the
Guyana/Suriname discoveries.
The company aims to bring the Coho-1 discovery
onto production during the first half of 2022.