APA ‘very confident’ of Suriname final investment decision

Upstream operator APA is very confident of a final investment decision (FID) by year-end for Suriname offshore block 58, according to chief executive John Christmann.

The Houston-based company has a 50% stake in the acreage, which would be the country’s first deepwater crude contributor. TotalEnergies holds a 50% operating interest.

The FID "is going to dictate timing in terms of drilling. We have until 2026 to start the exploration program so there’s nothing pressing on the 2025 side, but we could be back to drilling in 2025,” Christmann said during APA’s first quarter results call.

He added that front-end engineering design work is progressing for the block, the first oil from which is expected in 2028.

Block 53’s development envisions a 200,000b/d FPSO supported by an estimated 700Mb of recoverable oil resources at the Sapakara and Krabdagu discoveries.

BNamericas recently reported that environmental permitting had begun for the block.

In Suriname, APA is also the operator of exploration block 53 where work is focused on assessing the next steps for the Baja discovery, which lies in the southwest of the block, after most of the acreage was relinquished.

Source: APA