BIDDING FOR OIL EXPLORATION.

Suriname plans to hold its first ever bidding round for seven oil exploration licenses this year, reports Reuters (February 20, 2001). State oil company Staatsolie has already signed an agreement with Western Geco, a joint venture between Schlumberger Ltd. and Baker Hughes Inc., to acquire 2D seismic data in near-shore Suriname to help potential bidders assess the blocks on offer:

Staatsolie plans to offer six near-shore and one onshore licenses in November this year, and they will remain open until May 2002, said Exploration and Production Contracts Administrator Marny Daal-Vogelland;

Suriname's only current production comes from the on-shore Tambaredjo field, which pumps 12,500 barrels a day. The former Dutch colony is located on the northeast shoulder of South America, between oil-rich Venezuela and Brazil. A consortium of Burlington Resources Inc., Shell Exploration and Production, TotalFinaElf and Korea National Oil Corp. signed a production sharing agreement for a huge swathe of offshore, deep-water acreage in August 1999. In March 2000, Suriname signed another similar contract with Koch Exploration Canada Ltd, a subsidiary of U.S. based Koch Industries, for exploration onshore;

Suriname has a further 22 blocks available for exploration licenses, between 1,300 and 2,500 square km each, but has decided to offer them in several phases over the next five years.