To develop Suriname’s offshore oil potential, a higher level of financing is required and its state-owned company Staatsolie is readying itself to ensure it is prepared.
Outlined in its updated 2022 Annual Report, Staatsolie said it has amended and extended its corporate loan facility with current lenders, as credit agreements now permit funding for its participation in offshore development.
“As recent market conditions suggest, the amount of funding we need to secure may significantly increase. We are already preparing for financing and essentially, are keeping all feasible options open, enabling us to make an appropriate risk-based decision by the time commerciality of the first project is declared,” the report highlighted.
The TotalEnergies-operated Block 58 may produce the first offshore development. Staatsolie has the option to move into Block 58 with a minority stake, but it won’t come cheap. TotalEnergies has been working to identify an oil pool with a lower CGR (condensate to gas ratio) in order to facilitate an efficient development. So far, however, TotalEnergies has successfully combined two discoveries to create a pool of around 500+ million barrels of oil. The first two appraisal wells of these discoveries have been positive, and with the last oil well soon to be drilled, the company is hopeful that it will reach 600-650 million barrels of oil.
Other acreage on the radar includes deepwater Blocks 42, 52 and 53, and shallow water Block 7.
The bulk of the company’s US$1.5 billion investment plan for 2022-27 is allocated offshore, with the balance for sustainable energy and a planned turnaround of the 15,000 barrel a day (b/d) Tout Lui Faut refinery in 2024.
Last year, Staatsolie produced 6.14 million barrels from its Tambaredjo, Calcutta, and Tambaredjo-Northwest onshore fields, exceeding its initial target by some 190,000 barrels which the company attributed in part to enhanced oil recovery.
Tout Lui Faut also increased output, up more than 300,000 barrels to 3.3 million barrels in 2022, with the sale of refined products totaling 5.7 million barrels compared with 5.3 million barrels in 2021.
