APA Corp has discovered oil offshore Suriname on Block 53, while abandoning another well on Block 58.
The US-listed company said the Baja-1 well had found 34 metres of net oil pay in a single interval, in the Campanian. The well reached a total depth of 5,290 metres, APA said.
Initial analysis suggested light oil with gas, in a good quality reservoir. Evaluation of the find is ongoing.
The Noble Gerry de Souza drilled the discovery well, in water depths of around 1,140 metres.
The Baja-1 well is down-dip from the Krabdagu find, 11.5 km away in Block 58. A flow test on Krabdagu suggested a resource of 180 million barrels.
“Our success at Baja marks the sixth oil discovery we have participated in offshore Suriname, and the first on Block 53,” said John J. Christmann, APA CEO and president. “This result confirms our geologic model for the Campanian in the area and helps to de-risk other prospects in the southern portion of both Blocks 53 and 58.”
APA is the operator of Block 53 with a 45% stake. Petronas has a 30% stake and Cepsa 25%.
The drillship will now move to Block 58, where it will drill the Awari exploration prospect. This is 27 km north of the Maka Central find.
APA also noted that regulators had approved an amendment to the Block 53 licence. This provides an option to extend the exploration period on the production-sharing contract (PSC) by up to four years. APA is working to secure its first one-year extension.
P&A
Meanwhile, in Block 58, APA said that it had plugged and abandoned the Dikkop exploration well. This found water-bearing sandstones in the targeted interval.
TotalEnergies is the operator of Block 58 with a 50% stake, while APA has the remaining 50%.
The Maersk Valiant drillship, having completed the Dikkop work, will now move to the Sapakara field. There it will drill a second appraisal well on the Sapakara South. The partners carried out a successful flow test there last year.