Suriname - Oil
The sector with the most promising outlook for rapid, near-future expansion is the oil sector. A 2000 study by the U.S. Geological Survey estimates 15 billion barrels of oil in the Guyana Plateau. While overall the economy stagnated or declined during the 1980s and 1990s, Suriname's small oil industry has been a success story. In the 1960s deposits of oil were found along the young coastal plain near the small town of Calcutta in the District of Saramaka. In December of 1980 State Oil Company was incorporated and over the years this company has managed to secure the necessary expertise in technique and management to become a steady producer of the reserves that were subsequently located.
The state-owned oil company, Staatsolie, is by law the only company with the right to operate in Suriname’s oil sector. Other companies can only access the market through production-sharing agreements with Staatsolie. In 2008 Staatsolie produced a record 6 million barrels, which was an increase of 8.5% over 2007.
Of the 170 million proven reserves some 42 million have already been produced. The Tambaredjo field operated by the State Oil Company produced 12250 barrels of crude a day. Suriname boasts a small refinery that produces diesel, heavy vacuum gasoil, fuel oil and asphalt-bitumen. The annual turnover is about 100 million US Dollars with a gross profit of 37 million. The prospects for larger offshore oil deposits are promising, but to date no commercially viable deposits had been discovered.
The State Oil Company has an excellent record in dealing with land access issues. Many of the oil wells are located on rice farms or private property. A 60- kilometer pipeline runs through private properties. The company has been successful in securing the cooperation of private owners and this is in large part due to a good company policy on public relations and tactful handling of claims. To date the company also has a good environmental record. It has developed a sound environmental policy and secured the resources and trained the manpower to implement this agendum.
With record high prices for oil in the first half of 2008, the company reported record profits of over half a billion U.S. dollars. In its onshore activities the company commenced a U.S. $60 million exploration program across the coastal area to increase its reserves by 64 million barrels. The design project for the expansion of the Staatsolie refinery entered its final phase, and at a cost of $400 million will expand the company’s refining capacity from 7,000 bpd to 15,000 bpd and expand the company’s product line to include premium diesel and gasoline.
In April 2008 the Spanish Repsol YPF commenced test drilling off Suriname’s coast. In July the company reported that the results of the test drilling were inconclusive, and the complex configuration of the soil made it difficult to assess whether or not oil was present. In November 2008 U.S. company Murphy Oil Corporation and Staatsolie announced that Murphy Oil Corporation had contracted the Geo Celtic, the largest purpose-built seismic vessel in the world, from Fugro Norway in order to conduct 3D seismic research off Suriname’s coast in Block 37. This U.S. $50 million research project was expected to take place between November 2008 and January 2009. A month later, in December 2008, the Japanese oil company Tokeiku announced that it would piggyback on the Geo Celtic’s presence off Suriname’s coast and would commence its 3D seismic research immediately following the completion of Murphy’s research. Results are not available from either study. In November 2008 Staatsolie commenced a bidding round for two blocks offshore, which were expected to be awarded in July 2009.
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