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Hess exits Suriname’s Block 59
Kaieteur News – Suriname’s state energy company, Staatsolie, has announced that American international oil and gas company, Hess (Suriname II) Exploration Limited, will exit Suriname’s offshore Block 59.
Staatsolie said that Hess will relinquish Block 59, returning it to Staatsolie, becoming part of the open acreage. “Hess fulfilled its minimum work obligations and has decided not to move forward to the next phase of the exploration period, which concludes on 8 July 2025,” the company explained in a statement.
In July 2024, Hess’ partners, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Suriname B.V. and Statoil Suriname B59 B.V. (from 2018 Equinor Suriname B59 B.V.), withdrew and transferred their respective participation stakes to Hess, which then became the sole party in Block 59.
The Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for Block 59 was signed in July 2017 between Staatsolie, ExxonMobil, Statoil (Equinor), and Hess.
According to Staatsolie, Block 59 was located in the far northwest region offshore Suriname and covered about 11,480 square kilometres in water depths of 2,700 to 3,500 metres. Significant volumes are required for potential economically viable oilfield development in this block. After 6,000 km of 2D seismic data and 9,000 km2 of 3D seismic data were collected in the block, the two previously existing partners considered the risk too high for drilling an exploration well. In the past year, despite efforts, Hess did not find any new partners to continue exploration of Block 59.
Staatsolie said the area formerly designated as Block 59 will be incorporated into Staatsolie’s strategy to have as much of the offshore acreage under contract with international parties. Currently, production sharing contracts are in place with a number of international oil and gas companies for the various blocks, covering approximately fifty percent of Suriname’s offshore.
Notably, a PSC gives a foreign oil and gas company exploration, development and production rights and allows parties to attract partners or withdraw. This is common in the oil and gas industry. The costs and risks in the exploration period are fully borne by the partner(s). Companies decide to partner in or leave an area based on their global portfolio and risk assessments.
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