Suriname is well on its way to developing its first offshore petroleum project in its deep-sea area following the discovery of more than 180 million barrels of oil in the Krabdagu well.
The American oil company, APA Corporation, has been working to make the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, an oil-producing state.
APA Corporation announced Tuesday that more than 180 million barrels of oil have been found based on flow tests conducted at the Krabdagu well and as a result, a final decision by the participating companies to bring the oil reserves off the coast into production is one step closer.
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“Flow test data collected in the two lower intervals, the Upper Campanian, and Lower Campanian, indicates oil-in-place resource of approximately 100 and 80 million barrels (MMbbls) respectively connected to the KBD-1 well,” APA Corporation announced.
It said the tests were performed in the exploration well, and appraisal drilling will be necessary to confirm additional resources and optimal development well locations. The exploration well encountered another high-quality, lower GOR interval in the Upper Campanian that was not in a location suitable for flow testing. This shallower Campanian zone will need to be flow tested in the appraisal stage from a more optimal location.
“The results from the Krabdagu flow-test in the two lower intervals are in line with our expectations and provide data that accelerate our understanding of the field and will shape future activity. This includes identifying the optimal well locations that enable assessment of upside resource potential for each target,” said John J. Christmann IV, APA’s chief executive officer, and president.
“The connected resource demonstrated from the flow tests at Krabdagu combined with the results from Sapakara South, are a significant step forward in advancing a project in this area of Block 58,” he added.
The final investment decision, the so-called FID, was expected in the first quarter of this year, but that decision may not be made until the third quarter of this year or perhaps early 2023.
President Chandrikapersad Santokhi has on several occasions called on the business community not to take a wait-and-see attitude, but to invest in advance and be ready when the first oil is discovered.
Suriname has been producing oil on a small scale onshore for just over 40 years and is at least 60 percent self-sufficient in terms of the national need for gasoline. Part of the fuel and other petroleum products produced by the state-owned company Staatsolie are exported.
The Guyana-Suriname basin, where at least 11 billion barrels of oil have already been identified off the coast of neighboring Guyana, is seen as one of the most promising underexplored areas in the world.
Guyana already produces and exports oil by the US-based oil company, ExxonMobil, making this country with oil revenues one of the fastest-growing economies in the world today.
APA Suriname holds a 50 percent working interest in the block, with TotalEnergies (TTE), the operator, also holding a 50 percent working interest.
The APA-TTE joint-venture is currently drilling the Dikkop exploration well in the central portion of Block 58 with the Maersk Valiant. Following completion of operations at Dikkop, the Valiant is expected to continue exploration and appraisal activities in the central portion of Block 58.
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