TotalEnergies: Macaw-1 first of five offshore exploration wells in 2025
TotalEnergies plans to begin drilling the Macaw-1 exploration well in Block 64, located offshore Suriname, by mid-May 2025. Macaw-1 is the first of five offshore exploration wells scheduled for drilling this year. If successful, the exploration drilling program could potentially lead to new oil and gas plays in the Suriname-Guyana over the long term.
The National Environmental Authority granted TotalEnergies a permit to drill the Macaw-1 well at the end of April. The drilling of the Macaw-1 will take 80 working days and will be fully supported from a port facility in Suriname.
TotalEnergies contracted Stena Drilling to carry out the drilling, using the Stena DrillMAX drill ship. The vessel previously drilled in Guyana for ExxonMobil. Following its work in Guyana, Stena DrillMAX underwent maintenance and safety checks in Curaçao. After passing an acceptance test, the vessel is sceduled to depart for Suriname on 15 May and begin drilling on 19 May.
Block 64 is situated in the central northern region of Suriname’s territorial waters, approximately 280 km from the coast, with water depths ranging from 1,000 – 3,000 m. TotalEnergies holds a 40% participation interest and serves as the operator in this collaboration. PETRONAS and QatarEnergy each possess a 30% stake.
At least four other exploration wells will be drilled in the second half of this year. Block 52, where PETRONAS is the operator, include Caiman-1 and Kiskadee-1. In Block 5, with Chevron as the operator, the Korikori-1 will be drilled. This well lies outside the “golden lane,” just like Shell’s Araku Deep-1 in Block 65.
