Two hydrocarbon discoveries enrich Petronas’ oil & gas arsenal in South America

June 30, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Petronas Suriname E&P, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas heavyweight Petronas, has confirmed two discoveries and a successful appraisal activity in Block 52 off the coast of Suriname.

Two men standing on the coast at sunset with one of them pointing at an offshore rig — Illustration; Source: Petronas

Petronas explains that the Caiman-1 exploration well, drilled in 90 meters of water to a total depth of 5,065 meters, encountered multiple oil-bearing Cretaceous sandstone intervals. The Swartzia Aspasia Complex-1 (SAC-1) exploration well, located 8 kilometers east of Sloanea-1 gas discovery in 610 meters of water depth and drilled to a total depth of 4,560 meters, intersected gas-bearing sandstone reservoirs.

The drill stem testing (DST) demonstrated strong gas deliverability, indicating good reservoir quality. The Roystonea-2 appraisal well, drilled 7 kilometers north of Roystonea-1, confirmed the lateral extent of oil-bearing reservoirs.

The DST results indicate strong oil productivity, further validating the quality and extent of the reservoir system. The two discoveries and appraisal operations in Suriname’s Block 52 bring Petronas’ cumulative achievements in the country to eight wells.

As a result, this collectively unlocks recoverable resources of more than 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe). Petronas operates Block 52 with 80% participating interest, while the remaining 20% is held by Paradise Oil Company (POC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname (Staatsolie).

Petronas currently holds interests in Suriname’s eight offshore blocks: 9, 10, 48, 52, 53, 63, 64, and 66. The latest discoveries build on the commerciality declared for the Sloanea gas field in November 2025, with a final investment decision (FID) on its development targeted by the end of the year.

Mohd Jukris Abdul Wahab, Petronas’ Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President & Chief Executive Officer of Upstream, commented: “Eight successful wells in Suriname with recoverable resources of more than one billion barrels of oil equivalent unlocked, reflect the strength of our technical capabilities, disciplined execution, and strong partnership in Suriname.

“Block 52 sits within a highly prospective corridor, the Golden Lane, and we remain focused on translating this resource base into long-term value for Suriname and for Petronas.”

The company claims that the hydrocarbon discoveries further strengthen the case for multiple oil and gas developments in Block 52 and Suriname’s emergence as a significant deepwater hub in the Suriname-Guyana basin.

Petronas is actively augmenting its global oil and gas portfolio, as demonstrated by the start of a drilling campaign with TotalEnergies off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

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