Staatsolie NV has its eyes set on becoming an operator in the shallow water blocks of the country. That is included in its strategic goals 2022 to 2026.
In the updated 2021 year-end report, Glenn Corrie, Staatsolie’s vice president of Offshore, said that the state entity has taken critical steps toward its goal of achieving operator status. According to Corrie, Staatsolie’s main strategy to prove its worth to international oil companies (IOCs) is to take control of their oil basin.
He noted that in 2021 Staatsolie reorganized its offshore directorate by integrating geoscientists and petroleum engineers into a single pool to collect, analyze and interpret high-quality offshore data, underground resources and all the necessary information to assess exploration and assessment opportunities and develop knowledge of the Suriname-Guyana basin.
The vice president also said that they deepen the geotechnical, software and other skills and talents of the people with, on-the-job training, hands-on sessions with specialists, training and secondments and participation in special projects at IOCs. The intensive program for competence- and capability development is designed to identify and address any competency.
And it is this deepening of expertise that Staatsolie attributes to the success of its shallow water bidding round last year. According to the report, Staatsolie has signed an offshore Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with Chevron for block 5 – located in shallow water. In December, a farm-out agreement brought in Shell as a partner. This agreement is the first ever for Staatsolie in which it participates as an offshore partner with a 40% stake. Staatsolie becomes a non-operational partner through its subsidiary Paradise Oil Company.
Corie explained that PSC and Joint Venture agreement offers Staatsolie fruitful opportunities to realize value and improve its technical skills. The PSC guides Staatsolie through the exploration and assessment phases and Staatsolie only starts to contribute financially during the development phase, reducing the financial exposure during the initial phase, when the risk is higher, is minimized.
Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname was officially established to implement the country’s oil policy, which including exploration, drilling and processing oil. In 2014 Staatsolie expanded its activities to gold. Staatsolie is wholly owned by the state.
The company plans to spend an estimated $1.5 billion through 2026 as part of its investment program, the majority of which will be spent participating in offshore development. The funds will also be used to develop renewable energy projects as the world moves away from fossil fuels.
To support planned spending, Staatsolie expects to refinance its corporate credit facility to further tap into local, regional and international financial markets and explore commercial opportunities with international partners.
