(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — PETRONAS Suriname E&P B.V. (PETRONAS Suriname E&P), a subsidiary of PETRONAS, has signed the Production Sharing Contracts for Suriname’s offshore Blocks 63 and 64 with Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V.
PETRONAS Suriname E&P won the blocks, located in the Guyana-Suriname Basin, during the Suriname Demerara Bid Round 2022-2023 in June 2023.
Block 63 has an area of 5,425 sq km and is located approximately 200 km offshore Suriname in water depths of about 1,700 metres. Block 64 is 6,262 sq km in size and is located 250 km from the shore in slightly shallower water of 1,300 metres.
PETRONAS Suriname E&P has 100 per cent participating interest in and is the operator of Block 63.
TotalEnergies will operate Block 64 with 40 per cent participating interest, with the remaining interest equally split between PETRONAS Suriname E&P and QatarEnergy.
PETRONAS Vice President of Exploration, Mohd Redhani Abdul Rahman said, “Securing these blocks is crucial to PETRONAS’ effort in unlocking Suriname’s vast resource potential in the basin. This underscores the aspiration to build our presence in the country and strengthen our international portfolio, especially in the Americas.
“We look forward to working alongside the host authority and our partners to achieve more significant milestones while ensuring secure, affordable and sustainable energy to the market.”
PETRONAS Suriname E&P currently operates Block 52 in a 50:50 partnership with ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Suriname B.V., as well as Block 48 with 100 per cent participating interest.
PETRONAS Suriname E&P also has a 30 per cent participating interest in Block 53.
Other partners in the block are CEPSA Suriname, S.L. and operator APA Suriname Corporation LDC.
PETRONAS Suriname E&P B.V. (PSEPBV) announced first oil discovery in Suriname in September, at the Baja-1 well in the country’s offshore Block 53.
The well, located about 189 kilometres offshore Suriname in a water depth of 1,140 metres, was successfully drilled to a total of 5,290 metres.
It also encountered light oil in the Campanian aged sedimentary sequence. Post-drill evaluation is ongoing to firm up the potential of the discovered resource. — DSA