Staatsolie is excited about their drilling prospects in 2018/2019. At the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Conference (Energy Conference), hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Chamber (Energy Chamber) in January, Rudolf Elias, Managing Director of Staatsolie, outlined the plans for the state-owned oil company for the upcoming year.
He noted that one of the last finds in Guyana, the Turbot find, was only 25 miles away from Suriname’s border, which fuels optimism that Suriname will soon also have a big find.
Elias mentioned that in 2018/2019, Staatsolie is planning to drill four wells, which will be done in conjunction with partners. He added that Apache will drill in Blocks 53 and 58 in 2019 and Kosmos will drill in Blocks 45 and 42. For the rest of available blocks, he indicated that Staatsolie, together with Statoil, will be doing 2D seismic work. He also mentioned that Petronas is currently doing 3D seismic work in Block 48.
Staatsolie is currently negotiating two PSCs for Blocks 62 and 61. Elias indicated that they expect about 80 per cent of their offshore acreage to be out.
In terms of nearshore prospects, Staatsolie will be giving farm-in considerations in March 2018. For Staatsolie, nearshore includes a water depth of 0-30 metres, and according to Elias, they are expected to drill 10 wells in 2018/2019.
Staatsolie has identified 20 drillable prospects — some very exciting to the state-owned oil company with the Faya Lobi being high-prospect but low in volume and Kankantrie being low-prospect but high in terms of expected volumes. Elias added that they are actively looking for joint venture (JV) partners to assist with the farm-in operations, however, if no JV partners are found, he confi rmed that Staatsolie is prepared to drill the wells alone.