Energy producer TotalEnergies expects to begin a new well drilling campaign next year to extend its exploration targets in Suriname, the French company's vice president for exploration in the Americas said on Wednesday.
TotalEnergies' largest development in Suriname, the $10.5 billion Gran Morgu offshore project, is set to begin oil output in 2028, a milestone for the small Latin American nation, where all crude production is currently focused onshore.
"We're going to start a multi-well campaign hopefully next year, depending on rig availability," Daniel Larranaga said at an energy conference in the capital Paramaribo.
"We're really looking forward to be able to unlock further potential."
The campaign will include drilling four new exploration wells at Block 58, a large offshore area comprising 1.4 million acres (some 5,665 square kilometres) and the same area or block that will be developed through the Gran Morgu project.
"There's still plenty of room to look for oil," the head of Suriname's state-run energy company Staatsolie, Annand Jagesar, told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference, referring to Block 58, where the firm is a minority partner.
If a new reserve find is big enough, the area's partners could choose to develop a second field. If not, it could be tied back into the Gran Morgu project, Jagesar said.
Staatsolie is willing to participate in every oil and gas project that can potentially yield a good return for Suriname, Jagesar added.
"It's a matter of structuring Staatsolie's finances in such a way that we can participate in everything," Jagesar said.
In Namibia, where TotalEnergies also aims to expand, the company and its partners could make a final investment decision "in a few weeks" for the flagship Venus discovery at the country's Orange basin, Larranaga said.
The firm also is pursuing exploration in Nigeria, he added.
(Reporting by Ank Kuipers; Writing by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Mark Porter)