Dutch engineering company Fugro has received a contract award from PETRONAS Suriname E&P B.V. (PSEPBV), a subsidiary of PETRONAS, for the provision of positioning services for an exploration programme in Block 52, off the coast of the capital Paramaribo in the Guyana-Suriname Basin.
PETRONAS is the operator of Block 52 and holds 50 per cent participating interest, together with ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Suriname B.V. who holds the remaining 50 per cent. The companies announced their first discovery on the block last week at the Sloanea-1 exploration well.
The 2-year contract involves Fugro’s Starfix® precise positioning solution to help ensure safe and efficient transit, anchoring, and drilling activities for the programme’s semi-submersible rig and support vessels.
Fugro said work on the contract has already begun and executing these services in a restrictive environment due to the pandemic has so far posed multiple operational challenges for Fugro. As an example, both Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago’s international borders were closed ahead of the programme’s first rig move in October 2020 but Fugro’s local staff worked with regulators to overcome these hurdles and deliver the surface and subsurface positioning services that PSEPBV needed to safely and accurately position the rig onsite.
Brian Hottman, Director of Fugro’s Caribbean and Pacific South America Operations, said: “Our 40 years of Geo-data knowledge and expertise in the Caribbean and Pacific South American region includes more than 15 years of operational experience in Suriname and 20 years in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Hottman said the company is pleased to support PSEPBV in their operations through this landmark programme and will continue to work diligently to ensure careful progress on critical energy and infrastructure goals during these challenging times.
The Dutch company is currently in a joint venture with Guyanese engineering firm, Ground Structures Engineering Consultants Inc. for development work related to ExxonMobil’s operations at the 6.6 million acres Stabroek block offshore Guyana.
