Exxon And Petronas Hope To Repeat Guyana’s Success Offshore Suriname
Exxon and Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas will extend exploration of a gas field off the coast of Suriname, the country’s national oil company Staatsolie said. Expecting a repeat of the huge oil and gas success in the same basin offshore Guyana, researchers in Suriname are also reportedly considering a floating LNG project.
Exploration in Suriname has not yet been as successful as in Guyana. Exxon and Petronas in 2020 discovered gas in Block 52, which was considered commercially unattractive, while discoveries in Block 58 were made by France’s TotalEnergies and Apache Corporation.
The exploration extension is for the Sloanea-1 field in Block 52, where companies hope to make a commercial gas discovery.
Petronas and Exxon are currently planning to drill the Sloanea-2 appraisal well. If this well proves commercially viable, first production will not begin until 2031.
“A key component of the feasibility study is the guarantee of a tax-free period of 10 years from the start of production. This is also provided for in the agreement with government approval,” Staatsolie said in a statement.
Exxon and Petronas signed a production sharing contract with Suriname in 2013 covering block 52. Petronas also has an agreement with Staatsolie for blocks 63 and 64.
The deal, signed by the executives of Petronas, Exxon and Staatsolie, forms the basis for further negotiations on a gas addition to the production sharing contract they signed in 2013 over Block 52.
Since 2020, TotalEnergies and Apache have made five high-quality oil discoveries offshore Suriname in Block 58. The most recent discovery was the Krabdagu exploration well, completed in February 2022, but the last exploration well drilled in November 2022 was dry.
