Suriname & French Guiana
3900 Km 1972/73 seismic data
Well log data from 5 French Guiana wells
2027’s presidential election could be a turning point for French Guiana. Candidate Marine Le Pen and the Rassemblement National (RN) have officially voiced support for lifting the exploration ban. Local leaders and French Guianese Senator Georges Patient have already introduced legislation to overturn the “Hulot Law” ban specifically for overseas territories.
Previous exploration efforts provided critical data but faced immense challenges in a highly complex petroleum system.
- The 2012–2013 Campaign: Following the initial 2011 Zaedyus discovery (GM-ES-1), which proved a working system with 70m of net oil pay, a subsequent four-well appraisal campaign (GM-ES-2 through 5) did not encounter commercial volumes. These results suggested that while oil exists, the basin may be trap-limited, with complex lateral seals or historical tilting causing hydrocarbons to spill from their original traps.
- The Nasua-1 Well (2019): This $114 million ultra-deepwater “wildcat” well targeted a giant Cretaceous fan structure. While it was a dry hole, many geologists argue that such high-stakes wells in frontier basins are part of the learning curve and do not disprove the entire play.
What Does the Future Hold?
If the embargo is lifted, future exploration would likely target three high-potential “theoretical plays”:
- Upper Cretaceous Turbidite Fans: Targeting the same Campanian, Santonian, and Turonian sands that comprise the giant Stabroek Block discoveries in Guyana.
- Cenomanian-Turonian Source Plays: Utilizing advanced 3D seismic to map new migration pathways from deep, world-class source rocks into younger reservoirs.
- The Demerara Plateau Margin: Exploring the steep slopes and Jurassic/Lower Cretaceous fault blocks that remain largely untested by previous campaigns.