Suriname’s state energy company Staatsolie and an affiliate of Malaysia’s oil firm Petronas on Tuesday signed a production-sharing contract for exploring and developing an offshore oil and gas block, Staatsolie said in a release.
Suriname is on track to inaugurate offshore crude and natural gas output soon after foreign companies including TotalEnergies, APA and Petronas have discovered reserves that can be commercially developed. Staatsolie can opt for up to a 20 per cent stake in each area.
For deepwater block 66, offered in a bidding round between 2022 and 2023, Petronas’ subsidiary Paradise Oil Company is obtaining an 80 per cent interest and becoming the area’s operator through the contract, while Staatsolie is retaining the remaining 20 per cent.
The Malaysian company has committed to drilling two exploration wells during the first phase of the exploration period, Staatsolie said in the release.
The block is located in the western part of the Suriname-Guyana Basin, at water depths ranging from 1,000 to 2,200 meters, close to block 52, where Petronas is evaluating several discoveries of oil and gas.
Petronas is now participating in a total of six offshore areas in Suriname, and has so far made four oil and gas discoveries. With the signing of this agreement, about 50 per cent of Suriname’s offshore area is now under contract, Staatsolie said.
