Unlocking the Guyana-Suriname Basin: lessons from operators

The Guyana-Suriname basin has become a hotspot of global exploration and is now set to become a major producer in a few short years. Leading explorers in the Guyana-Suriname basin have recently begun to disclose more details about the subsurface challenges and their experiences in discovering and developing the resource. Key areas of complexity included reservoir architecture, sealing mechanism and fluid variation. The distinctions between deepwater channelised and distributive systems are blurred in this basin. The complexity creates challenges for both exploration and development. Cross-disciplinary integration helps the teams better understand the basin system. The fast pace of exploration, appraisal and development has required new ways of working. Logistics and data management are challenged by the sheer speed of work. The operators are bringing new philosophies and approaches to decision-making and uncertainty.