Petronas Suriname has announced a major oil discovery at the Roystonea-1 exploration well in block 52.
The successful drilling, carried out in an offshore location about 185 kilometers from the coast and at a water depth of 904 meters, has revealed several oil-bearing campanian sandstone reservoir packages, the company announced on November 2.
The Roystonea-1 well reached a total depth of 5,315 meters. Petronas said that the discovery is poised to play a crucial role in the company’s international upstream ventures. Further evaluation is being undertaken to determine the full extent of the discovery and its potential development synergy with the Sloanea-1 discovery made in 2020 within the same block.
Executive vice president and chief executive officer of upstream, Datuk Adif Zulkifli, expressed his optimism, stating, “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.”
Petronas vice president of exploration, Mohd Redhani Abdul Rahman, added that the success of Roystonea-1 is expected to stimulate further exploration in the surrounding areas, driving the search for commercially viable hydrocarbon resources.
The company said it remains committed to collaborating with the host authority, Staatsolie, and its partners to unlock Suriname’s hydrocarbon potential.
Block 52, covering an area of 4,749 square kilometers, is strategically located north of the coast of Paramaribo, Suriname’s capital city, within the promising Suriname-Guyana basin. Petronas Suriname E&P as the block’s operator has a 50% participating interest and ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Suriname B.V. holds the remaining 50 percent.
In addition to Block 52, Petronas Suriname also operates Block 48 with a 100% participating interest and holds a 30% non-operating participating interest in the adjacent Block 53, where the Baja-1 oil discovery was made in 2022.
