NEW BIDDING ROUND OPENED FOR OIL EXPLORATION OFF

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000094 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR: LLUFTIG, EB/ESC/IEC/EPC, DOE FOR PUMPHREY, WARD, AND ALOCKWOOD, USGS FOR JEAN NOE WEAVER, CHRISTOPHER SCHENK, AND PHIL HAYS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EPET ENRG ETRD ECON EINV KTDB PREL PBTS NS SUBJECT: NEW BIDDING ROUND OPENED FOR OIL EXPLORATION OFF SURINAME'S COAST REF: 05 PARAMARIBO 704 ¶1. Suriname's Minister of Natural Resources, Gregory Rusland, announced to the press last week that Suriname's state-owned oil company, Staatsolie has opened a new round of bidding to international oil companies interested in off shore oil exploration. This follows an earlier successful signing in October 2005 of an agreement with Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) of Los Angeles (see reftel). This will be the fourth round of bidding since the estimate in 2000 by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) that the Guyana Basin off the coast of Suriname may contains oil and gas reserves of approximately 15 billion barrels. Earlier deals have been concluded with Spanish firm Repsol YPF and Danish firm Maersk. Fields currently under active exploration have advanced to the next phase of the process, which involves the acquisition and processing of 3D seismic data for a more reliable interpretation of the oil strata and to further define the exploration potential of the area. ¶2. In this current round, blocks known as 15, 36 and 37 are up for tender and their dimensions are 2,552 square kilometers (sq. km.); 3,407 sq. km.; and 8,758 sq. km, respectively. A data package containing acquired and processed 2D seismic data from 2005 is available from Staatsolie for purchase at a cost of 25,000 USD. Potential bidders are under no obligation to purchase the package. Any agreement will be subject to a production-sharing contract with Staatsolie. The deadline to bid on any of the blocks is July 2, 2006. All interested companies must submit, along with their bid, a company profile, technical and financial reports for the past two years, and latest audit report, which should be no more than two years old. ¶3. Interested bidders can contact Staatsolie for details at: Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V. Attention: Marny Daal Vogelland, Manager E&P Contracts Adhinstraat 21 Paramaribo Suriname Phone: (597) 439781 Fax: (597) 530093 Email: madaal@staatsolie.com or bidding@staatsolie.com Website: www.staatsolie.com BARNES