The Spanish company Repsol YPF on Saturday signed a production sharing contract with the Surinamese state-owned company, Staatsolie for the exploration and production of oil in Block 30, which is 100 km offshore from Suriname. The signing ceremony was attended by the President of the National Assembly and the Minister of Natural Resources of the Republic of Suriname.
Block 30 has a surface area of approximately 18,600 sq km and is in the Guyana -Suriname basin, where oil is currently produced at the Tambaredjo and Calcutta fields near Paramaribo.
The production sharing contract is for thirty years and includes a six-year exploration period. It is foreseen that in the fourth quarter of this year an estimated 1,800 km of 2D seismic tests will be acquired.
The production sharing contract is the result of a two-year technical study of the region administered by Repsol YPF and is based on existing seismic and geological data on offshore Suriname supplied by Staatsolie. The results of these studies show possibilities of significant hydrocarbon accumulations, especially in the deep-water area of Block 30.
According to Rigzone, an Internet trade publication, the contract signed on Saturday marks an important step in Repsol YPF's strategy to increase its exploration portfolio in basins with a high potential. "Although Repsol YPF already operates several exploration blocks in the Caribbean area, in Venezuela, Cuba, etc., this new contract strengthens the Group's presence in an area where it currently produces approximately 220,000 (barrels) per day from operations in Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela", Rigzone reported.