Oil and gas company APA Corporation on Tuesday said it had discovered oil at Baja-1 well in Block 53, offshore Suriname, using the Noble Gerry de Souza drillship.
Baja-1 was drilled to a depth of 5,290 meters (17,356 feet) and encountered 34 meters (112 feet) of net oil pay in a single interval within the Campanian.
Preliminary fluid and log analysis indicates light oil with a gas-oil ratio (GOR) of 1,600 to 2,200 standard cubic feet per barrel, in good quality reservoir. The discovery at Baja-1 is a down-dip lobe of the same depositional system as the Krabdagu discovery, 11.5 kilometers to the west in Block 58. Evaluation of open-hole well logs, cores and reservoir fluids is ongoing, APA said.
"Our success at Baja marks the 6th oil discovery we have participated in offshore Suriname, and the first on Block 53,” said John J. Christmann, APA CEO and president. “This result confirms our geologic model for the Campanian in the area and helps to de-risk other prospects in the southern portion of both Blocks 53 and 58.”
APA is the operator and holds a 45% working interest in Block 53, with Petronas holding a 30% working interest and CEPSA holding a 25% working interest.
Baja-1 was drilled in water depths of approximately 1,140 meters (3,740 feet). The Noble Gerry de Souza drillship will mobilize to Block 58 following the completion of current operations, where it will drill the Awari exploration prospect, approximately 27 kilometers (north) of the Maka Central discovery.
