Suriname Launches Offshore Round

Suriname's state oil company Staatsolie is offering eight shallow-water blocks on November 16 off its coast in a bidding round, it said on November 16. 

The acreage is situated south of recent deepwater discoveries made at block 58, and north-west of Suriname's onshore producing fields. France's Total and US Apache made their second major discovery at block 58 in September.

A data room for the blocks will open on November 30, with bids due by April 30 2021. Staatsolie is being advised through the process by the UK's Envoi.

Besides a small area covered with a 3D seismic survey, most of the acreage has only been mapped with a 2D campaign, although six historical wells have been drilled, Staatsolie said in online documents. The acreage "is therefore considered under-explored, although all of the wells encountered hydrocarbons."

Suriname is on a push to develop its conventional offshore plays, and alongside neighbouring Guyana, has become a key area of interest for Total and other leading international explorers like ExxonMobil. The US firm made a find on November 16 at its Tanager-1 well but has dismissed it as non-commercial.