PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – The Malaysian oil company Petronas has made a significant oil discovery off the country’s coast.
Subsidiary Petronas Suriname E&P on Thursday confirmed that an oil reservoir has been found at the Roystonea-1 exploration well in Suriname’s Block 52.
Suriname’s national oil company Staatsolie confirmed the discovery today after the local newspaper, de Ware Tijd, announced this on Wednesday based on well-established sources.
This is Petronas’ second discovery in Block 52.
A discovery was already made in this concession at Sloanea-1 in 2020. Elsewhere offshore Suriname, the company had also hit the mark in 2022 at the Baja-1 exploration well in Block 53.
The Roystonea-1 well, located about 185 kilometers offshore in a water depth of 904 meters, was successfully drilled to 5,315 meters. It also encountered several oil-bearing sandstone reservoir packages. Further evaluation is being undertaken to determine the full extent of this discovery and its potential development synergy with the Sloanea-1 discovery made in 2020 within the same block.
“Petronas views the Roystonea-1 oil discovery as a positive development towards realizing our differentiated barrel strategy for international upstream ventures, focusing on a material discovery with minimal contaminants,” said Petronas Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Upstream, Datuk Adif Zulkifli.
Vice President of Exploration Mohd Redhani Abdul Rahman added, “The success of Roystonea-1 is expected to drive further exploration for commercially viable hydrocarbon resources in the surrounding areas. Petronas will continue to work closely with the host authority, Staatsolie, and partners to unlock Suriname’s hydrocarbon potential. We look forward to implementing safe and successful future exploration programs together.”
Block 52, which covers an area of 4,749 square kilometers, is located north of the coast of Paramaribo, Suriname’s capital city, within the prospective Suriname-Guyana basin. Petronas Suriname E&P is the operator of Block 52 with a 50 percent participating interest. In addition to Block 52, Petronas Suriname E&P operates Block 48 with 100 percent participating interest. It is also a partner with 30 percent non-operating participating interest in the adjacent Block 53, where the Baja-1 oil discovery was made in 2022.
Petronas is the second international oil company now taking severe steps to execute a significant oil development offshore Suriname. In September, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné announced during a visit to Suriname that the process was being initiated to initiate development in Block 58.
Apache Corporation, the partner of TotalEnergies, has confirmed at least 700 million recoverable barrels of oil in that block. Production costs have been estimated at US$9 billion. Staatsolie can participate in this development up to a maximum of 20 percent.
Offshore oil production is seen as one of the most essential options for lifting the country out of the economic malaise in Suriname, which is currently implementing a financial recovery plan with the support of the International Monetary Fund.
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