Staatsolie is engaging Guyana and other countries to share and access petroleum data as it works to better understand and de-risk its side of the Guyana-Suriname Basin while attracting new offshore investment.
Speaking on the sidelines of Caribbean Energy Week, Offshore Exploration Manager Sharista Kisoensingh said discussions are ongoing at the government level to access regional datasets.
“We are talking on government to government level, on sharing of data, exchanging data or even leasing data from Guyana,” Kisoensingh said. She noted that Staatsolie has already sourced data from French Guiana and is examining geological links across the Atlantic margin.
Kisoensingh explained that expanding access to data is critical to advancing offshore exploration. “For understanding and de-risking the basin, you need data,” she said.
The data effort supports Staatsolie’s open-door offering, launched in November 2025 and open until November 2027, aimed at bringing new operators into Suriname’s offshore.
“It’s the second time that we do this, but a bit different, with more flexibility,” Kisoensingh said.
She explained that the program allows companies to select acreage and propose their own work programs, rather than follow predefined terms used in previous bid rounds. “The companies can say… that is the most prolific area for me,” she said.
The offering also introduces contract flexibility. “If it’s frontier, then companies might first want to study first… studies can be conducted up to 24 months,” she said, noting that firms can begin under a joint study agreement before moving to a production sharing contract.
Each submitted proposal opens a 90-day period for competing bids before Staatsolie selects a partner based on set criteria.
Staatsolie has also expanded data acquisition offshore, including agreements with multi-client companies and a pre-funded survey completed in January 2026 to support exploration activity.Suriname has long produced oil onshore, but its offshore potential is only now being unlocked. A major development, the GranMorgu project in Block 58, is set to start in 2028 with oil production capacity of 220,000 barrels per day and a development cost in excess of US$10 billion.
