PETRONAS Suriname has completed drilling of the Caiman-1 exploration well in Block 52 offshore Suriname, a key step in its ongoing exploration program, according to Staatsolie.
In a December 9 announcement, Staatsolie said the well was spudded on July 21, 2025, and safely plugged and abandoned on December 6, 2025. It delivered encouraging results and is the first well completed in the four well 2025–2026 drilling campaign in the block.
Caiman-1 was drilled in the western section of Block 52, located about 140 kilometers offshore. The block spans roughly 4,750 square kilometers at water depths ranging from 60 to 1,000 meters.
PETRONAS said the results support its wider exploration and appraisal program, which is focused on further delineating resources and evaluating development concepts toward a potential commercial project in Block 52.
Suriname’s Caiman-1 well could unlock shallow end of ‘Golden Lane’ – GEOExPro | OilNOW
Drilling operations were supported from shore bases in Suriname, with materials, fuel, and provisions supplied locally from Paramaribo. Personnel were transported to and from the drilling rig through Suriname, strengthening local content and creating opportunities for domestic suppliers.
Industry publication GEOExPro noted that Caiman-1 could expand exploration into the shallower section of the so-called “Golden Lane” within the Guyana-Suriname Basin, a geologically proven trend known for oil and gas accumulations.
PETRONAS has made three discoveries in Block 52 since 2020: Sloanea-1, Roystonea-1, and Fusaea-1, along the Upper Cretaceous Golden Lane. Roystonea and Fusaea are estimated to hold nearly 400 million barrels of recoverable resources.
The company is currently executing a three-well campaign comprising Kiskadee-1, Roystonea-2, and Caiman-1, which will continue through 2026. Kiskadee-1 and Roystonea-2 are situated less than five kilometers south of Roystonea-1 and are designed to confirm the field’s extension and test a new geological closure.
