already has a 97.5% equity to explore Guyane’s (also known as French Guiana) entire offshore area, which totals 65,000 acres. Suriname borders Guyane.

The company signed the new heads of agreement with Suriname’s state-owned oil company Staatsolie Maatschappij Surinam N.V. (Staatsolie) and its affiliate, Paradise Oil NV.

Hardman is now concluding its joint operating and production-sharing agreements, in addition to finalising a third party farm-in agreement.

Covering a total area of 3300 square kilometres, the concessions are directly adjacent to Suriname’s main producing oil fields, Tambaredjo and Calcutta, which collectively have more than 1 billion barrels of oil in-place and produce about 13,000 bbls of oil per day, Hardman said.

The company will earn its interest by funding an $8.5million initial exploration campaign of up to 25 wells. Drilling is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.

“The Suriname acreage complements Hardman’s existing exploration portfolio, being prospective acreage but in a lower-cost, lower-risk environment,” Hardman chief executive Simon Potter said.

“Staatsolie is an established operator, and we look forward to building on this relationship in maturing both current and future opportunities.”