Suriname is set to surpass Guyana in exploration and appraisal drilling activity in 2025, according to Wood Mackenzie in the latest World Oil Regional Report on Guyana and Suriname.
“In 2025, for the first time since the Liza discovery, WoodMac expects to see more exploration and appraisal wells drilled in Suriname than in Guyana,” the report outlined.
Operators – Petronas, Chevron, Shell, and TotalEnergies – are gearing up for campaigns in 2025. “WoodMac hasn’t seen that many active operators in Guyana and Suriname since 2022,” the report continued.
ExxonMobil is the operator of Guyana’s Stabroek Block.
One well to go in Stena Carron’s Stabroek Block drill campaign | OilNOW
The report attributes Suriname’s rising activity to policy efforts. It said, “In the past five years, Suriname’s effective licensing policy of new acreage since 2020 will pay dividends.”
“Activity in 2025 will be in stark contrast with a quiet 2024, when only ExxonMobil and Petronas spudded exploration wells.” Petronas’ Fusaea in Suriname was the lone large oil discovery that year.
ExxonMobil drilled eight successful exploration and appraisal wells in the Stabroek Block in 2024, according to Hess’s latest annual report. All eight wells “encountered hydrocarbons”, Hess said. There was “one unsuccessful exploration well for which the well costs were expensed”.
Three wells are being drilled this year by the Stena Carron.
Rystad Energy predicts that 10 wells will be drilled offshore Suriname in 2025-2026.
