At Last We Have Our First Offshore Oil Discovery
It took some time, but the waiting game for its first offshore oil at last has paid off for Suriname.
Apache and Total, each with a 50% interest in Block 58, recently announced that their Maka Central-1 well has encountered more than 123 meters net pay of high-quality light oil and gas rich condensate, in multiple stacked reservoirs. The companies are now working on an appraisal plan, to appraise the resources and productivity of the reservoir, which will be completed in the coming months.
Total has joined Apache as JV-partner in Block 58 in December 2019 and is very pleased with this first significant oil discovery in Suriname waters. The company finds the result of Maka Central-I very encouraging and is optimistic about the large remaining potential of the area.
Drilling of a next well is currently underway at Sapakara West-1, which is approximately 20 kilometers southeast of Maka Central-1. Once the well reaches total depth, the companies will run open-hole logs, pressure tests, fluid and core samples, and associated laboratory analyses. Final results are expected in late March 2020, but based on what they have seen until now the companies are confident that Sapakara West will also deliver a positive outcome. Following Sapakara, the rig will drill a third, and likely a fourth exploration test in Block 58.
Maka Central -1 is widely believed to have delivered Suriname a history-in-making-moment equal to the onshore discovery at Calcutta, Saramacca district, in 1965. That discovery entailed the establishment of Staatsolie, the NOC of Suriname, and a flourishing oil industry in Suriname.