Trio Petroleum Corp., Bakersfield, Calif., has leased an additional 667 mineral-acres in the South Salinas project in Monterey County, California, increasing the leasehold in its core project to 9,267 acres from 8,600 acres.
In mid-April, Trio contracted Ensign Drilling for a fully equipped ADR 350 rig drilling rig capable of drilling to 10,000 ft. The rig is expected to move to the HV-1 well location within a week with drilling operations expected to begin within 2 weeks.
The HV-1 well is a 2-mile step-out to the HV-3A discovery that found and produced mid-gravity oil on Trio’s acreage at depths of about 3,750-5,100 ft.
Trio Petroleum holds an 85.75% working interest in the South Salinas project, which holds an estimated 39 million bbl of oil plus 40 bcf of gas, or 45.7 MMboe, in probable (P2) undeveloped reserves, according to a March 2023 company presentation.