Suriname’s state-owned oil company, Staatsolie announced it has signed a production sharing contract with a subsidiary of the US-based Chevron Corporation for exploring and producing oil at a shallow-water block.
The agreement is seen as a move by Chevron to expand its operations in the Guianas which is home to more than 20 significant oil discoveries since 2015.
The Guyana-Suriname Basin has emerged as the most exciting exploration address in the Atlantic Margin. Exploration activity offshore Guyana and Suriname spans nearly half a century, but it took ExxonMobil’s Liza-1 discovery in 2015 to sharpen the industry’s focus on the basin’s prospectively.
With the Liza discovery in Guyanese waters, exploration activity increased in both Guyana and neighboring Suriname. So far, Apache and TotalEnergies have made five significant discoveries in Block 58 off the Surinamese coast, while Malaysian Petronas has also made a major oil discovery.
With the signing of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC), Chevron has obtained exploration, development, and production rights in Block 7.
Staatsolie has a 20 percent participation share through its subsidiary Paradise Oil Company (POC). The cooperation between POC and Chevron was confirmed with the signing of the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) and the accord enables Staatsolie to play an active role in the partnership from the start.
The costs in the exploration phase will be borne by Chevron and the exploration period is expected to last eight years, divided into three phases.
The PSC also states that Chevron should give preference to materials, services, and products offered by Surinamese companies. The condition is that they meet the quality, price, and other commercial requirements. In this way, local participation within the offshore oil industry is promoted.
“We look forward to working together with our partner and supporting the development of Suriname’s energy sector through this exploration program,” Chevron said.
The Surinamese authorities have been striving for some time to get more local content in the country’s emerging offshore gas and oil industry.
Block 7 is located in the west of the shallow offshore area and has a size of 1,867 km2.
In October 2021, Staatsolie and Chevron signed a PSC for Block 5, in which Staatsolie has a 40 percent stake and in December last year, Chevron transferred one-third of its 60 percent stake in Block 5 to Shell (KE Suriname BV).
CMC/
