PETRONAS and ExxonMobil’s Sloanea-1 find in Suriname’s offshore Block 52 has “promising” potential to become a natural gas development, according to the state-owned oil company Staatsolie.
“Current models of the Guyana-Suriname Basin, as well as discoveries made to date, indicate substantial volumes of both associated and non-associated gas. We believe that natural gas will play an increasingly important transitional role in the long-term shift from petroleum to cleaner sources of energy, for Suriname and the world,” the company outlined in its 2022 Annual Report. “One promising discovery is the Sloanea-1 gas find in Block 52.”
PETRONAS drilled the well to a total depth of approximately 15,682 feet (4,780 metres) using the Maersk Developer rig. The Sloanea-1 exploration well encountered several hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone packages with good reservoir qualities in the Campanian section. The well data proves excellent calibration of the hydrocarbon potential of the block.
Block 52 covers an area of 1.2 million acres (4,749 square kilometres) and is located approximately 75 miles offshore north of Suriname’s capital city, Paramaribo. The water depths on Block 52 range from 160 to 3,600 feet (50 to 1,100 meters).
Staatsolie said it is now collaborating closely with Suriname’s offshore partners to encourage the development of natural gas projects.
“Though natural gas is more expensive to develop than oil and would involve creating infrastructure and immediate markets from the ground up, we are committed to investigating ways to monetise natural gas development and offtake opportunities for our partners and the country,” Staatsolie highlighted.
Suriname’s neighbor to the east, Guyana is advancing its own gas project.
The project aims to utilise Guyana’s natural gas resources from the Liza field to generate electricity and natural gas liquids for commercialisation, contributing to energy security and reducing Guyana’s carbon footprint. The grid is being powered almost entirely using dirtier fossil fuels.
