By News Americas Business Editor
News Americas, PARAMARIBO, Suriname, Weds. July 9, 2025: The American energy company Hess Corporation has quietly ended its pursuit of oil exploration in Block 59, a deepwater offshore area in Suriname, after failing to secure drilling partners and determining the project carried excessive risk.
The withdrawal was confirmed by Suriname’s state-owned oil firm, Staatsolie, which said Hess had fulfilled its minimum exploration requirements and opted not to advance to the next phase of its contract. The move effectively relinquishes Block 59, a high-potential but technically challenging zone spanning 11,480 square kilometers in ultra-deep waters.
“Hess has fulfilled its minimum work obligations and decided not to proceed to the next phase of the exploration period ending July 8, 2025,” Staatsolie said in a statement. The block will now be reopened for bidding by new companies.
The retreat comes after ExxonMobil and Equinor (formerly Statoil), original partners in the 2017 Production Sharing Contract, transferred their stakes to Hess last year—leaving the U.S. firm as the sole stakeholder in Block 59.
Despite collecting 6,000 kilometers of 2D seismic data and another 9,000 square kilometers of 3D data, the partners deemed the prospect of drilling an exploration well too risky—a sobering reminder of the technical and financial challenges facing frontier oil plays.
Efforts by Hess to attract new partners throughout the past year were unsuccessful, further underscoring industry caution about offshore Suriname’s unexplored zones.
While the relinquishment marks a setback in Suriname’s ambition to become a major offshore oil player—especially following discoveries in adjacent Guyanese waters – Hess continues to maintain a stake in Block 42, which lies immediately to the south of Block 59.
Staatsolie noted that voluntary withdrawals are common in the energy sector and reflect the exploratory nature of early-stage offshore licensing.
The news adds a sobering note to Suriname’s recent oil narrative, as industry eyes now turn to the country’s more promising southern blocks—and whether next-generation seismic analysis or strategic partnerships will reignite exploration activity.
British Caribbean News
