London—France's Total and US' Apache Corp. announced Jan. 14 a new "significant" oil and gas discovery in Block 58 off the coast of Suriname, marking the fourth find on the block off the small South American country so far.
The Keskesi East-1 well encountered a total of 206 meters net pay consisting of black oil, volatile oil and gas pay in good quality reservoirs after being drilled to a water depth of about 2,400 feet, the companies said.Targets were in the upper Cretaceous-aged Santonian and shallower Campanian intervals. The shallower Campanian interval contained 190 feet of net oil, volatile oil and condensate pay, while the Santonian contained the oil pay but not condensate.
Drilling is still ongoing for deeper Neocomian-aged targets, Total said.
Fluid samples indicate API oil gravities around 27-28 degrees in the Campanian and 35-37 degrees in the Santonian, Apache said.
"Total depth of pay in the Campanian ... is in line with other discoveries," but lesser pay in the Santonian puts total pay at 206 feet, RBC Capital Market analyst Scott Hanold said.
"[That] is below other discoveries," Hanold said, adding the Neocomian interval has not been tested in the other exploration wells.
Total assumed operatorship of Block 58 from Apache on Jan. 1 with a 50% working interest. Apache holds the remaining 50% stake.
Bonboni up nextNext well in the exploration queue is Bonboni, on the northern portion of Block 58.
"We are delighted to announce this new discovery, which confirms this first exploration campaign as a full success and adds to the proven resource base," Total Senior Vice President Exploration Kevin McLachlan said in a statement. "We are also excited, as new operator of the block, to start the appraisal operations designed to characterize the 2020 discoveries, while in parallel start a second exploration campaign on this prolific block in 2021."
Keskesi is the easternmost of the four discoveries, all announced in 2020.
In January 2020, the partners announced the Maka Central-1 discovery, which found 240 feet of oil pay and 164 meters of light oil and gas condensate pay. The subsequent large discoveries at Sapakara West and Kwaskwasi have supported expectations that Block 58 could be as prolific as the Stabroek finds.
Block 58 adjoins the Stabroek Block in neighboring Guyana, where an ExxonMobil-led consortium has made 18 discoveries in five years and in December 2019 became the first offshore producer of oil in that country from its Liza field.
Also, ExxonMobil and Malaysia's Petronas in December announced an offshore Suriname discovery named Sloanea on Block 52, east of Total-Apache's Block 58.
