07/01/2026 by Daniel Tait
State-run Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas has completed drilling an exploration well called “Caiman-1”.
The well is the initial phase in a four-well campaign taking place in offshore Suriname on Block 52. The campaign began in 2025 and is part of a plan to help the South American country turn its discoveries offshore into a valuable commercial development.
A spokesperson for Staatsolie, the national oil company of Suriname, stated that the new well has been spudded and safely plugged. A progress report later said that the results were encouraging and will inform its future development concept and appraisal studies for the offshore block.
As well as having both a national and international oil and gas portfolio, Petronas also runs the successful brand Petronas Lubricants, which supplies gear oil, hydraulic oil and turbine oil alongside many other products. With Caiman-1 now complete and further drilling planned, analysts expect Petronas’ campaign to play an important role in assessing whether Suriname can now move from exploration to a commercially viable oil project. If successful, the drilling at Block 52 could potentially transform Suriname’s long-term economic and energy outlook.
The exploration well was drilled in Block 52’s western point, an offshore location that covers approximately 4,750 km2 in waters with a depth of between 60 and 1,000 meters. The offshore block is roughly 140 km from the Suriname coastline and is part of the Guyana-Suriname Basin, an emerging site that has attracted increasing global attention after several major discoveries in recent years.
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