Suriname’s offshore Block 52, which has already yielded a major gas discovery, could be declared commercial for oil within the next year and a half, Annand Jagesar, managing director of Suriname’s state oil firm Staatsolie, has told Reuters.
Suriname, which shares offshore geological properties with its neighbor to the west, the oil hotspot Guyana, aims to become the new big oil and gas producer in South America by the end of the decade.
Several offshore blocks are being explored and developed by consortia led by international firms with Staatsolie’s participation, including Block 58, where TotalEnergies is developing a $10.5-billion oil project, GranMorgu, with first oil expected in 2028.
In Block 52, operated by Malaysia’s state oil and gas firm Petronas, three gas discoveries have already been made. The biggest, Sloanea, was declared commercial for gas late last year.
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Petronas and Staatsolie achieved a significant milestone with the Declaration of Commerciality (DoC) of Sloanea field in Block 52, marking Suriname’s first gas development. The DoC confirms the project’s readiness to progress from discovery towards development, subject to the final investment decision, Petronas said in November.
“This achievement highlights PETRONAS’ focus on high-value growth through partnership and expertise, while strengthening Suriname’s position as an emergent deepwater hub in the Suriname-Guyana Basin,” the Malaysian company said at the time.
Petronas is now exploring for oil in the same Block 52, with hopes high that the area could get the Declaration of Commerciality (DoC) for oil, too.
“We hope also to somewhere in the coming 18 months to get to a declaration of commerciality on oil as well,” Staatsolie’s Jagesar told Reuters in a telephone interview published on Thursday.
Suriname and its state oil firm hope that the Suriname-Guyana Basin could hold large discoveries offshore Suriname. Guyana has become a major oil producer with an Exxon-led consortium discovering more than 11 billion of recoverable barrels of crude and already producing 900,000 barrels per day from the Stabroek block.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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