Petronas makes another hydrocarbon discovery in Suriname’s Block 52

Petronas has announced another hydrocarbon discovery in the offshore Block 52 in Suriname following the drilling of the Roystonea-1 exploration well.

The latest find in the block, which is an oil discovery, was made by the Malaysian state-owned energy company’s subsidiary Petronas Suriname E&P.

In December 2020, Petronas and its partner ExxonMobil made a hydrocarbon discovery in Block 52 through the drilling of the Sloanea-1 exploration well.

Petronas is the operator of the block with a 50% stake, while ExxonMobil holds the remaining 50%.

According to Petronas, the Roystonea-1 well, which is nearly 185km off the coastline, is located in water depth of 904m. The exploratory well was drilled to a total depth of 5,315m.

Roystonea-1 also intersected various oil-bearing Campanian sandstone reservoir packages during the drilling process.

Petronas revealed that additional assessment is being carried out to understand the full extent of the oil discovery. Additionally, the company is exploring the potential for development synergies with the Sloanea-1 discovery.

Petronas executive vice president and upstream CEO Datuk Adif Zulkifli said: “Petronas views the Roystonea-1 oil discovery as a positive development towards realising our differentiated barrel strategy for international upstream ventures, focusing on a material discovery with minimal contaminants.”

Block 52, which spans 4,749km², is located to the north of Paramaribo, the capital city of Suriname. The block is situated within the Suriname-Guyana basin.

Petronas exploration vice president Mohd Redhani Abdul Rahman said: “The success of Roystonea-1 is expected to drive further exploration for commercially viable hydrocarbon resources in the surrounding areas.

“Petronas will continue to work closely with the host authority, Staatsolie, and partners to unlock Suriname’s hydrocarbon potential. We look forward to implementing safe and successful future exploration programmes together.”

Apart from its operations in Block 52, Petronas Suriname E&P holds full ownership of Block 48. Furthermore, the company is a partner with a 30% non-operating participating interest in Block 53, which is located adjacent to Block 52.

In 2022, Block 53 saw an oil discovery in the form of Baja-1.

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