KUALA LUMPUR (May 19): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), through its subsidiary Petronas Suriname Exploration & Production B.V. (Petronas Suriname), has completed a 50% farm-down of its 100% participating interest in an offshore block in Suriname to ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Suriname B.V. (ExxonMobil).

In a statement today, Petronas said the offshore block in Suriname — Block 52 — covers an area of 4,749 km², with water depths ranging from 50 to 1,100 meters. It is situated in the prospective Suriname-Guyana basin, where several major hydrocarbon discoveries were made recently.

Subsequent to the farm-down, Petronas Suriname, as the operator of Block 52, holds 50% equity, while ExxonMobil holds the remaining 50%, said Petronas.

“Our upcoming exploration activities for Block 52 will involve the drilling of a well in the third quarter of 2020, in addition to acquiring new 3D seismic data utilising the latest technology, covering the whole block to further evaluate the block’s upside potential,” said Petronas’ vice president of exploration Emeliana Rice-Oxley.

“We look forward to this partnership with ExxonMobil and are determined to continue with the success story on hydrocarbon discoveries in the basin,” she added.

Petronas said Petronas Suriname had drilled the Roselle-1 well in Block 52 in 2016, which provided crucial subsurface information and data on the petroleum system of the area.

Subsequent detailed analysis carried out by Petronas Suriname indicated that Block 52 contains multiple geological play types and is within the favourable fairway for hydrocarbon generation and accumulation.

“The recent oil discoveries in an adjacent block further support this assessment,” said Petronas.

Apart from Block 52, Petronas Suriname also holds a 100% participating interest and operatorship for Block 48, and a 30% non-operated participating interest in Block 53.