Paradise Oil Company (POC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V., retains its non-operated participating interest of 40%. The details of the deal, signed on 17 December, are not disclosed.

Signing of the documents by (from left to right): Kevin Peters, Senior Commercial Advisor Chevron Global Exploration, Rekha Bissumbhar, Upstream Director Staatsolie representating POC, Annand Jagesar, General Manager Staatsolie and Mike Resomardono, Country Manager External & Government Relations Shell in Suriname.

Staatsolie welcomes the participation of a renowned party such as Shell in Block 5. The farm-out underlines the great interest there is in the offshore area of Suriname. An interest that has been fueled by the recent major discoveries, but certainly also by Suriname's good work in presenting prospects in the offshore blocks to the oil and gas world. Shell's participation in Block 5 also means that more expertise is involved in the analysis, which will increase the chance of more exploration successes in the Surinamese offshore. 

Staatsolie and CSEL signed the production sharing contract for Block 5 on 13 October 2021. Block 5 is in the west of the shallow offshore area and has a size of 2,235 km². With the PSC Staatsolie granted CSEL exploration, development and production rights, while retaining a non-operated forty percent participation interest in Block 5. It is the first time that Staatsolie is participating in offshore activities as a partner. 

KeyFacts Energy: Staatsolie Suriname country profile