US oil company Apache is in ongoing talks about offshore exploration rights on Suriname’s Block 58 where conclusion of a deal would increase its exposure to the South American country’s frontier play, writes Gareth Chetwynd.
Apache has been facing competition for the block, although the identity of the other bidder was not disclosed by regulators in the former Dutch colony.
One source described Apache’s eagerness to secure Block 58 as a “defensive move“ designed to lock up acreage between Block 53 — where it has just completed the Popokai-1 wildcat — and the maritime boundary with Guyana, where offshore operations are under way.
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