LatAmOil: Suriname signs PSCs for two offshore blocks with TotalEnergies

Staatsolie, the national oil company (NOC) of Suriname, has signed production-sharing contracts (PSCs) for two offshore blocks with TotalEnergies (France) and its state-owned Qatari partner, QatarEnergy.

In a statement, Staatsolie said the parties had signed joint venture agreements that gave TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy exploration, development and production rights to licence areas known as Blocks 6 and 8 over a term of 30 years. The NOC will retain 40% stakes in the joint ventures through its subsidiary Paradise Oil Co. (POC), it said.

Under the terms of the new PSCs, TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy will bear the costs of exploring Blocks 6 and 8 exploration costs during the six-year exploration phase. They are due to begin drilling their first exploration wells in the third or fourth year of the exploration period, with a first well scheduled to be drilled in year three or four.