Suriname licenses 11 offshore areas to become an oil giant
Suriname's state energy company, Staatsolie, has opened bidding for 11 offshore areas in the country , according to a statement released on the company's website.
The Staatsolie Hydrocarbon Institute NV (SHI) announced on Tuesday a round of competitive bidding for 11 new offshore blocks known as the SHO 2 Bid Round 2023-2024. The blocks are located in near-shore and shallow areas, with water depths up to 150 metres. The area up for grabs is located south of recent deep-water discoveries made in Block 58.
After these discoveries were made, it was speculated that Suriname had the potential to become the next Guyana, which has seen significant success in hydrocarbon exploration. The Apache and TotalEnergies consortium was responsible for the discovery of five deposits with great commercial potential. In September, TotalEnergies said it would break ground on a $9 billion project across two sites that could produce up to 700 million barrels – or up to 200,000 barrels per day, with production estimated to begin in late 2028.
More recently, Malaysia's Petronas discovered several oil deposits in its exploration well in Suriname's Block 52 off its coast, Staatsolie said last week.
But to date, Suriname's oil prowess has encountered one setback after another, with TotalEnergies rejecting its FID for Block 58 in January.
For Suriname, which has 70% of its inhabitants living below the poverty line and battles a 60% inflation rate, any oil development is welcomed, with Surinamese President Chan Santokhi placing his hopes on his hopes for the impoverished country in a massive oil boom.
The bidding round was launched on November 7, with bids requested by May 31 next year. The exploitation of these resources would be interesting both for the nation, but also for international markets because Suriname is not subject to the production quota regime and therefore could be an interesting Western partner.
Staatsolie currently produces 17,000 barrels per day from onshore drilling.
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The article Suriname puts 11 offshore areas under concession to become an oil giant comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/il-suriname-mette-in-cocessione-11-aree-offshore-per-diventare-un-colosso-petrolifero/ on Wed, 08 Nov 2023 10:24:45 +0000.