TotalEnergies announced on Friday that it will leverage its GranMorgu development to also tap the Baja discovery in Suriname’s Block 53. The company recently signed an agreement to acquire the 25% interest in the block, formerly held by CEPSA. TotalEnergies joins APA, which owns 45% and operates the block, and Petronas, with a 30% stake.
Block 53 lies directly east of Block 58. TotalEnergies and its partners announced the Final Investment Decision for the GranMorgu development in Block 58 in October 2024.
Baja-1 was drilled to a depth of 5,290 meters (17,356 feet) and encountered 34 meters (112 feet) of net oil pay in a single interval within the Campanian. Preliminary fluid and log analysis indicates light oil with a gas-oil ratio (GOR) of 1,600 to 2,200 standard cubic feet per barrel, in good quality reservoir. The discovery at Baja-1 is a down-dip lobe of the same depositional system as the Krabdagu discovery, 11.5 kilometers to the west in Block 58.
“This acquisition brings new resources to the development of our low-cost and low-emission GranMorgu project,” Senior Vice President Americas (Exploration & Production) at TotalEnergies, Javier Rielo, is quoted in the June 27 company statement.
He added, “It also proves how TotalEnergies will leverage GranMorgu infrastructure to develop profitably additional resources and extend its production plateau, strengthening the position of the company in the offshore of Suriname.”
During the recently concluded Energy Summit in Suriname, Rielo announced that TotalEnergies has identified additional wells to sustain plateau production at GranMorgu. “We have already identified wells. We are very near some places to explore,” he stated at the time. “I think that will keep the plateau production in GranMorgu for several, several years, more than 10 years. We’ll see.”
As of now, the overall GranMorgu project progress is around 20%, with FPSO construction about 40% complete. SBM Offshore’s Fast4Ward hull, Multipurpose Floater C (MPF C), will serve as the base of the FPSO. The hull was reserved in June 2023 and delivered in February 2025. It was fabricated by China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI). BOMESC Offshore Engineering Company Limited and STS VOF will build the topside modules. COSCO Shipping Heavy Industries will also support the topside construction.
