Interview with Trio Petroleum Corp. CEO, Frank Ingriselli
Frank Ingriselli is a seasoned leader and entrepreneur with wide-ranging oil exploration and production experience spanning more than 44 years in the international energy industry. He is currently the President of Indonesia Energy Corporation (NYSE: INDO), engaged in the exploration, development, and production of strategic, high-growth energy projects in Indonesia.
Frank is the former founder, Chairman and CEO of PEDEVCO Corp. (NYSE: PED), which acquires and develops energy assets in the US, and is the former founder, Chairman and CEO of Pacific Asia Petroleum, Inc., a NYSE previously publicly traded energy company with operations in Africa and China.
Earlier in his career, he spent 23 years at Texaco, Inc. in senior executive positions involving E&P, merger and acquisition activities, pipeline operations, and corporate development, including serving as President of Texaco International Operations and President of Texaco Technology Ventures where he was responsible for over several billion dollars of investments. Frank currently sits on the Board of NXT Energy Solutions Inc. (TSX:SFD), sits on the Board of Trustees of the Eurasia Foundation, and is the founder and CEO of Brightening Lives Foundation Inc., a public charitable foundation. He graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in business administration, earned an M.B.A. from New York University, and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law.
FULL INTERVIEW:
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions about Trio Petroleum Corp. Can you briefly describe the company and its focus for our readers who may be unfamiliar?
Trio Petroleum just completed its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:TPET) 3 weeks ago and has focused on developing it's approximate 10,000 acre development & production asset in the heart of California’s oil industry. We are surrounded by billion-barrel fields. Our team has been operating in this area for over 40 years and we have already made several discoveries on our asset and have produced form those wells. We are conventional wells and don’t do fracking.
48 hours after the IPO, we announced that we signed up a drilling rig and are now drilling what we expect to be another producing well. If successful, it will be producing positive cash withing 60 days. Trio is fully permitted for its work in California. I am excited to get going as a public company. After 44 years in the industry (having served as President of Texaco International Operations), this is my 4th listing on the NYSE, post my Texaco days.
What specific strategic, high-growth energy projects is Trio currently pursuing and how do these projects fit into the company's long-term growth strategy?
We will be targeting the development/production plan we have for our 10,000-acre South Salinas Project. Discoveries already made there by our team and currently we are drilling our next well. An independent engineering/reserve firm has assigned 163 million barrels to our asset which will only grow as we start our continuous drilling program. Our SEC filings detail the enormous upside to our development plan where we have a potential $2 billion project discounted at 10%.
Will you talk about how TPET can positively impact California’s energy market?
Trio can certainly positively impact California's energy market. California is the 6th largest producing oil state in the country yet the 2nd biggest consumer. California imports 70% of its oil mostly from the Middle East and Venezuela. We are conventional drilling with no fracking, with high-quality oil which hopefully will contribute to reducing California’s imports of foreign oil.
What challenges, if any, is Trio Petroleum Corp. currently facing?
Probably the biggest challenge facing Trio Petroleum is securing financing fast enough so that we can accelerate our development plan which was detailed in our filings and in our engineering report has a present value of over $2 billion (discounted at 10%). The sooner we drill these wells the higher and quicker that value will be.
Are there any exciting milestones you can share with our readers about Trio Petroleum Corp.?
Certainly an exciting milestone is that within 48 hours of the IPO we signed a drilling rig contract and 10 days later the rig was mobilized and we started drilling well last week. We expect to hit total depth in less than 20 days, and if successful will be producing cash in 60 days. In addition, we're fully permitted in California to drill and to produce. We're also looking at significant production acquisitions that could also additionally add immediate cash flow to the company.
What is the outlook for oil and gas prices and demand in California and beyond, and how does Trio plan to adapt to changing market conditions?
With simple conventional wells, and at today's current oil price and based on our prior discoveries and production wells, we expect that at the current price of oil these wells will produce just shy of 100% rates of return. So, we drill a well for $3 million and will recover in net cash proceeds just shy of $3 million in only the first year. With that type of “cash-cow” wells and an aggressive development plan, no wonder our project is deemed to have an ultimate discounted value of over $2 billion.
What is the company's financial position and how does it plan to allocate capital in order to maximize returns for investors while also ensuring long-term growth and stability?
Our financial position is we have the cash from the IPO. We have no debt and we stared drilling. We are in the process of setting up a team to look at establishing a drilling fund so that we can accelerate our development plan to drill as many wells as possible and as early as possible so that we can economically and efficiently develop these high-value cash cow wells without any shareholder dilution.
What is your perspective on the total addressable market for Trio Petroleum Corp.?
In the state of California which imports 70% of its oil requirements, this provides an extraordinary opportunity to develop internal natural resources that are conventional and non-threatening to contribute to the state’s thirst for oil. We're blessed that we're already permitted and our team has a 40-year unblemished history of producing cleanly and economically in this region.
Is there any other information you wish to share with our investors reading so we can highlight the opportunity of the company?
We certainly are excited to share the detailed independent engineering and reserve studies done on our asset, showing the enormous value of the development plan that we've already embarked on. That value is a $2 billion discounted net cash flow opportunity that we believe is financeable with significant rates of return and value. This is my 4thpublic company and I intend to do my best to grow shareholder value and deliver on our development plans. So, I encourage you to visit our website and look over our presentation and detailed development plans: www.trio-petroleum.com
