Trio Petroleum Corp., a California-focused E&P, announced on April 17 it was launching an IPO with expectations that the company’s gross proceeds will be $6 million.

Trio is led by CEO Frank C. Ingriselli, who also serves as a director of Elephant Oil Corp. and Lafayette Energy Corp. Ingriselli is a veteran of several oil and gas companies. He has served as president of Indonesia Energy Corp., was founder, president and CEO of PEDEVCO Corp. and Pacific Asia Petroleum Inc.

Trio, based in Bakersfield, California, has operations in Monterey County, California. The company holds 85.75% working interest in approximately 8,600 acres in what it calls the “South Salinas Project Asset.”

Trio Petroleum purchased some of the acreage and wells in September 2021 for $300,000 cash, a non-interest-bearing note payable of $3.7 million and shares, according to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. The seller was a predecessor of Trio Petroleum, Trio LLC.

As of Oct. 31, 2022, there were no proved reserves attributable to the acreage. The probable undeveloped reserves in the South Salinas Project, net to Trio Corp., are an estimated 39 MMbbl of oil and 40 Bcf of gas, according to the SEC filing. The possible undeveloped reserves, net to Trio Corp., are an estimated 92 MMbbl of oil and 148.8 Bcf of gas, the filings state.

The company’s regulatory filings say that Trio Petroleum will drill the HV-1, a confirmation well at the Presidents oilfield. The field is a large geologic structure and a potential large oil and gas field where Trio LLC drilled the HV-3A discovery well in 2018. In addition to the HV-1 well, Trio has permits for two other Monterey County wells.

In fourth-quarter 2021, Trio constructed the HV-1 drill pad, a new access road to the drill site and upgraded a preexisting access road to the drill site. The planned bottom-hole location of the HV-1 confirmation well is near the major Rinconada Fault and other faults and, therefore, could find Monterey Formation oil and gas reservoirs with abundant fractures that may enhance reservoir characteristics and oil and gas productivity.

The company anticipates beginning drilling in about three weeks from the completion of the IPO.

Trio Petroleum’s stock was expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange American under the symbol TPET on April 18. The offering is expected to close on April 20, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Spartan Capital Securities LLC is acting as the sole book-running manager for the offering. McDermott Will & Emery is acting as counsel to Trio Petroleum Corp. and Anthony LG PLLC is acting as counsel to Spartan Capital Securities LLC.

Trio intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to fund the drilling of wells, repayment of debt, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

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