Suriname: If at first you don't succeed ...

STAATSOLIE is not giving up on offshore exploration, despite the absence of bids for any of the 13 blocks it offered to international oil companies in its 2003-2004 bidding round, which closed in May. The state-owned oil company, which produces all of its 12,000 barrels a day onshore, has given a number of reasons for companies' unwillingness to bid, including the cost of acquiring speculative data held by WesternGeco. As a result, Staatsolie, which is anxious to extend production operations offshore, has decided to acquire its own 2-D seismic on the continental shelf. Staatsolie's managing director, Eddie Jharap, says the firm has decided to piggy-back on the 10,000 km 2-D survey being shot