First Oil Production Confirmed at Asphalt Ridge's Well HSO 2-4

Bakersfield, CA, Sept. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Trio Petroleum Corp (NYSE American: “TPET”, “Trio” or the “Company”), a California-based oil and gas company, is pleased to announce oil production, using a downhole heater, from its first well HSO 2-4 on its Asphalt Ridge Project in Uintah County, Utah. This confirms that the pay zone bitumen, when heated, becomes less viscous and is able to drain into the wellbore and be pumped to the surface.

Commented Robin Ross, CEO of Trio, "The Asphalt Ridge Project is a very special project, known to be one of the largest tar-sand deposits in North America outside of Canada, making it a potential giant oilfield. According to J. Wallace Gwynn of Energy News, it is estimated to be the largest measured tar-sand resource in the United States. And given its low wax, negligible sulfur content, is expected to make the oil very desirable for many industries, including shipping. We believe that this project has the potential of being both large and profitable for the Company. According to an Optimization Study conducted by Dr Amanda Bustin, President of Bustin Earth Science Consultants, the HSO 2-4 well, which is approximately 1,390 feet deep, has an estimated ultimate recovery (“EUR”) of 300,000 barrels of oil with an estimated initial production rate of approximately 40 barrels of oil per day. Trio’s leasehold at the Asphalt Ridge Project includes approximately 30,000 acres thought to be capable of two and a half acre well spacing.

Now that the downhole heater has proven the ability to produce oil from the Asphalt Ridge sandstone reservoirs, plans are being put in-place by the Company to test a second heater from a different manufacturer that could potentially lower operating expenses on a significant basis (per Lafayette Energy Corp). The new heater has been delivered and installed and is currently being deployed in the first well, the 2-4 well, and the first heater is moving to 8-4. Production from the 2-4 and 8-4 wells will use the same separation equipment and facilities. A third well is expected to be drilled as early as late October and an additional five wells during Q4 2024, subject to rig and services availability.