US-based oil company Hess has exited Block 59 offshore Suriname, joining partners ExxonMobil and Equinor, who quit the development last year
After failing to attract partners to develop Block 59 in offshore Suriname, Hess has returned the deepwater acreage to state-owned oil company Staatsolie. The move follows last year’s exit of previous partners ExxonMobil and Equinor, who transferred their stakes to Hess after deeming the risk was too high for drilling an exploration well in Block 59.
“Hess fulfilled its minimum work obligations and has decided not to move forward to the next phase of the exploration period, which concludes on 8 July 2025,” said Staatsolie.
A production sharing contract for Block 59 was signed in July 2017 between Staatsolie, ExxonMobil, Statoil (Equinor), and Hess. Block 59 is located in the far northwest of Suriname’s offshore, covering about 11,480 km2 in water of 2,700 to 3,500 m. “Significant volumes are required for potential economically viable oilfield development in this block. “After 6,000 km of 2D seismic data and 9,000 km2 of 3D seismic data were collected in the block, the two previously exiting partners considered the risk too high for drilling an exploration well,” said Staatsolie.
ExxonMobil and Equinor exited the block in July 2024. In the past year, despite efforts, Hess did not find any new partners to continue exploration of Block 59.
The area formerly designated as Block 59 will be incorporated into Staatsolie’s strategy to have as much of the offshore acreage under contract with international parties. Currently, production sharing contracts are in place with several international oil and gas companies for the various blocks, covering approximately 50% of Suriname’s offshore.
