PETRONAS said it achieved success with the drilling of the Sloanea-2 appraisal well at Block 52 offshore Suriname.
The company said Sloanea-2 was spudded in the second quarter with the Noble Voyager. It is an appraisal of the Sloanea-1 gas discovery of 2020. PETRONAS made a major oil discovery at the Roystonea-1 well in November 2023. The well, like Sloanea-1, demonstrated promising reservoir qualities in the Campanian sandstone formations. Another success was recorded earlier this year with a discovery at the Fusaea-1 well.
The company said the success at Sloanea-2 has bolstered its prospects in the basin and opens the possibility of developing a standalone floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project at the field in the future.
“PETRONAS is currently assessing the feasibility of an integrated development strategy for gas and oil extraction within Block 52,” it said in an August 8 press release.
PETRONAS is being encouraged by a Letter of Agreement (LoA) signed with Suriname state oil firm, Staatsolie earlier this year. This promises a tax-free period of 10 years from the start of gas production.
Rystad Energy sees Suriname’s first standalone gas project potentially materializing as early as 2031, at Block 52. As for Petronas’ Roystonea-1 and Fusaea-1 oil discoveries in this acreage, Head of Americas Upstream at Wood Mackenzie, Mark Oberstoetter, said the resources could support a processing capacity of 100,000 barrels per day (b/d) with a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.
Spanning 4,749 square kilometers in the Guyana-Suriname Basin, Block 52 is operated by Petronas with a 50% interest, while ExxonMobil holds the other 50%.
An integrated Block 52 development offshore Suriname would follow TotalEnergies’ proposed Block 58 oil development, which is planned for first oil by 2028.
