PARAMARIBO, Suriname, The state-owned oil company, Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname NV (Staatsolie), says it will continue to focus in the coming years on contributing to the development of the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country after the company is projecting unaudited financial revenue for this year to be at US$840 million.
At an end-of-year statement, the company said the projected consolidated revenue for 2022 is 51 percent more than US$558 million in 2021.
It said this is mainly due to a higher average oil price in 2022 of US$93 per barrel against US$70 per barrel last year.
“Pre-tax profit is estimated at over US$420 million ($213 million in 2021). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) are approximately US$610 million (US$387 million in 2021). The contribution to the state treasury amounts to almost US$300 million (US$ 186 million in 2021) in the form of taxes, dividends, and royalties from Staatsolie’s participation in gold mines,” it added.
Staatsolie said it hopes to continue being a significant player in Suriname’s socio-economic development through “the responsible development of energy sources.
“In the onshore (land area), finding reserves and maintaining oil production at six million barrels per year remains the main goal. The cost-cutting program to maintain Staatsolie’s position as a competitive oil producer will be continued.”
The company said that the offshore, technical, and commercial evaluation of the international partners’ ongoing exploration and assessment programs continues.
“Staatsolie continues to work towards participating in a development and production phase when the time comes. Among other things, attention is paid to the financing process for this.
“For the refinery, the focus remains on stable production levels and increasing availability, while improvement programs keep costs as low as possible. In 2023, preparations will be made for the four-yearly major inspection and overhaul of the refinery that will take place in 2024.”
The company said that it is looking back on 2022 with a positive feeling and that the “production of oil, refined products, and electricity, and the consolidated turnover are higher compared to 2021.
“Staatsolie looks back on 2022 with a good feeling” and is “satisfied with the results.”
It said that the production of crude oil, refined products, and electricity results are above target in all segments except thermal power generation.
In 2022, the state-owned company reported that 6.14 million barrels of Saramacca Crude had been produced, about 110,000 more than the target.
“A record quantity of 3.3 million barrels of high-quality diesel and gasoline was produced in the Staatsolie refinery, an increase of more than 300,000 barrels compared to 2021. Approximately 1.9 million barrels of fuel oil and bitumen were produced.”
Staatsolie Power Company Suriname said it had generated approximately 75 percent of Suriname’s electricity needs. The thermal plant, whose generators run on fuel oil, has generated about 283,000-megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity.
“The thermal electricity production is subject to ‘supply and demand.’ Approximately 1.2 million MWh has been generated at the Afobaka hydropower plant, 200,000 MWh more than planned. Due to the higher water levels in the reservoir – the result of the above-average rainfall – more hydropower energy has been supplied to the electricity network. The maximum daily generation was 162 MW (153 MW in 2021).
“Subsidiary GOw2 has maintained its market share in 2022. The first phase of the World Class Retail Network project was completed in March with the delivery of the renovated service station in Latour. Several GOw2 pumping stations will be renovated in the coming years. This should ensure that GOw2 is confirmed as a top brand in Suriname and that the market share in the retail segment is maintained.”
Regarding its offshore activities, an exploration well has been drilled in Block 42 involving foreign oil companies Shell, Chevron, and Hess.
“The results of this encourage further exploration activities in this block. In Block 53 (APA, Petronas, and CEPSA), a discovery has been made with the exploration well Baja-1. The evaluation of the drilling results is ongoing, and APA will soon indicate how the Baja-1 find will be further investigated.
“Exploration wells for the 2023 work program have been identified in Block 52 (Petronas, ExxonMobil). At the same time, it is being investigated how the earlier Sloanea-1 gas found in this block can be explored and possibly developed as a commercial production field.”
It said that one of the most extensive seismic surveys in the world is currently taking place in Suriname. A consortium of three international companies collects high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) seismic data in the 22,000 km² shallow Surinamese sea area, known as the surface offshore.
“The area is south of the deep offshore, up to 140 kilometers from the coast, with water depths of 30 to 75 meters. The collected 3D seismic data will contribute to the further exploration of the shallow offshore. The project started in October 2021. The first phase and part of the second phase were completed this year. This project will be continued in 2023,” Staatsolie said.
It noted that in April, the company and the US-based Chevron signed a production-sharing contract for the shallow offshore block 7.
“Staatsolie has a participation share of twenty percent through its subsidiary Paradise Oil Company NV (POC). To this end, POC and Chevron have entered into a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA).”
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