Staatsolie signs three more offshore production sharing contracts with international oil and gas companies

Production Sharing Contracts have been signed for blocks 63, 64 and 65. The blocks were part of the Demerara Bid Round held from November 2022 to May 2023.

Contracts from the bids were signed after negotiations with selected partners. The Demerara Bid Round was part of Staatsolie's strategy to sign Production Sharing Contracts for as many offshore areas as possible.

A Production Sharing Contract (PSC) has been signed for Block 63 with PETRONAS, who had submitted a bid for this block. The PSC for Block 64 was signed with the collaborating companies TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy and PETRONAS, who submitted a joint bid. TotalEnergies is in the lead in the partnership (operator) with a forty percent participation interest; QatarEnergy and PETRONAS each have a thirty percent stake.

BG International (a subsidiary of Shell) and QatarEnergy had made a joint bid for Block 65. QatarEnergy has a forty percent participation interest; Shell has a sixty percent interest and will act as operator. Through the PSCs, Staatsolie extends the rights for exploration, development and production to these companies. The costs and risks during the exploration period are fully covered by the latter. The exploration period consists of three phases and will last seven years. An exploration well will be drilled in both Block 64 and Block 65 in the first phase, which will last three years. In Block 63 the first exploration well follows in the second phase of the exploration period. In the event of an oil or gas discovery that is declared commercial, Staatsolie has the right to participate in all three blocks for a maximum of twenty percent from the development period. The PSCs, which are valid for thirty years, were signed by Staatsolie's General Manager Annand Jagesar and for Block 65, the representatives of BG International and QatarEnergy, Mark Regis and Ali Abdulla Al-Mana respectively. For Block 64, the representatives of TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy and PETRONAS, Artur Nunes Da Silva, Ali Abdulla Al-Mana and Zamri Baseri, respectively, signed. For Block 63 it was Zamri Baseri from PETRONAS. The signing took place in the presence of the Minister of Natural Resources, David Abiamofo.

Blocks 63, 64 and 65 are located in the Demerara area, in the central northern part of the Surinamese territorial waters, and are located 160 to 355 kilometers offshore in water depths of between 150 and 3,000 meters. By entering into PSCs in the fairly challenging deep-sea area, the industry's confidence in the Suriname-Guyana basin and in Staatsolie has once again been confirmed.

The Shallow Offshore 2 Bid Round is currently underway for eleven blocks in the shallow sea area, the so-called shallow offshore. This area is located south of the deepwater oil and gas discoveries and north of Staatsolie's production fields in the Saramacca district and has water depths of up to 150 meters. This tender round also fits in with Staatsolie's strategy to have as much area as possible under contract with international parties.