French supermajor TotalEnergies has started to scour the market for deepwater rigs and support vessels to begin development of massive resources discovered offshore Suriname, anonymous sources with knowledge of the tenders told Bloomberg on Friday.
Exploration and resource development in the Atlantic Basin is now alive more than ever, following the huge developments offshore Guyana led by ExxonMobil and the plans of TotalEnergies to tap the discovered resources in Guyana’s neighbor, Suriname.
TotalEnergies, which partners with APA Corp offshore Suriname, has already made several discoveries in the area. The companies are expected to make as early as next month the final investment decision (FID) to develop part of the resources, according to Bloomberg’s sources.
TotalEnergies has reportedly ordered a hull for a 200,000-bpd production vessel, the clearest sign yet that the French supermajor would be moving to develop the project.
“They have reserved this hull,” Annand Jagesar, managing director of Suriname’s state oil company, Staatsolie, told Bloomberg.
“You’re not going to pay a lot of money for that to have it sitting around,” Jagesar added.
TotalEnergies and APA plan to make the final investment decision on the Block 58 project by the end of 2024, targeting first oil in 2028.
Crude oil discoveries in Suriname have opened access to some 2.4 billion barrels in reserves, Wood Mackenzie analysts have estimated. The consultancy also reported the South American nation holds some 12.5 trillion cubic feet in natural gas reserves.
A total of nine offshore discoveries have been made in Suriname in the last six years but commercial development of any of them is still in the future.
Suriname is often seen as a candidate for a repeat of Guyana’s oil boom since the two neighboring countries share one hydrocarbon basin. However, exploration efforts have taken longer in Suriname and the colossal success of Exxon with the Stabroek Block and its dozen discoveries has yet to be replicated in Guyana’s neighbor.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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