Suriname Statoil has acquired a 30% participating interest in frontier deepwater Block 47 off Suriname from Tullow Oil PLC.
Tullow will remain operator with 70% working interest. The agreement is subject to approval from Staatsolie Mij. Suriname, the state oil company of Suriname.
A 2,000 sq km 3D seismic survey is to start shortly on the 2,369 sq km block, which is in 1,300-3,000 m of water in the Guyana basin 270 km north of Paramaribo. Depending on results, exploratory drilling could start in 2014. Tullow signed the Block 47 PSC in 2010.
Tullow’s recent Zaedyus indicated discovery well off French Guiana “is a promising indication of the potential in the region,” Statoil said (OGJ Online, Nov. 9, 2011).
