Block 58, offshore Suriname, now poised to host the Grand Morgu FPSO, has captured the spotlight as Suriname enters its long-awaited petroleum era.

Yet, success in frontier oil exploration is rarely a straight line.

To understand today’s momentum, we must look back—into the messy, curved, and instructive path that led here.

One moment in that journey stands out.

🔄 A Moment of Uncertainty: October 2019

On October 23, 2019, Steven Keenan, Apache Corporation’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Exploration, resigned.

At the time, Apache was drilling Maka Central-1, its flagship prospect in Block 58. The well had not yet been declared a discovery.

Investor anxiety surged.

Apache’s shares and bonds fell sharply, reflecting market fears that Block 58 might fail to deliver.

The resignation of a key technical leader mid-drill, especially in a high-risk deepwater frontier, raised questions:

Was there internal doubt about the prospect?

Were results below expectations?

Did strategy misalign with leadership vision?

We now know the answer came just weeks later.

✅ January 2020: The Breakthrough

In January 2020, Apache and Total (now TotalEnergies) announced a major oil discovery at Maka Central-1.

It was the first commercial deepwater find in Suriname’s history—the spark that ignited Block 58’s transformation and Suriname’s entry into the global petroleum map.

⚖️ Lessons in Hindsight

Markets often react to incomplete or misunderstood signals.

Executive departures, particularly during frontier exploration, can reflect internal tension, not technical failure.

Maka’s story reminds us that exploration success often hides behind uncertainty and volatility.

And yet, it was from that very volatility that Suriname’s boom began.

🧭 From Then to Now: Grand Morgu & A Nation’s Shift

Fast forward to today: with multiple subsequent discoveries in Block 58, development plans are advancing, to develop Sloanea and Krabdagu discoveries, with Grand Morgu (“ Jaguar “) FPSO symbolizing Suriname’s first oil, we are witnessing history in the making. Block 58 is no longer a gamble—it’s a foundation.

As someone who has been involved in petroleum and energy consultancy, such as specifically in the Guiana-Suriname Basin since 2008, advising both National Oil Companies (NOCs) and International Oil Companies (IOCs), Independents, investors and banks, I find deep and added value in examining not only subsurface geology and geophysics.

But this integrated in the whole landscape of business strategy, policy and political environments, investor narratives, and historical transitions that shape outcomes over time.

This story—of Maka, and subsequent discoveries of Block 58, and of Suriname—isn’t just about oil.

It’s about how understanding history helps shape better decisions for the present and future.

🔍 Final Thought

In energy exploration, the path to success is seldom linear.

It curves through uncertainty, leadership changes, technical recalibrations, and external skepticism.

Block 58 reminds us that to see clearly where we’re going, we must sometimes pause—and look in the mirror to reflect.

Also be invited to read my coming essay.

Very interesting and relevant ?

On how, when, why TotalEnergies finally got involved and rooted in the Suriname offshore, as an almost last-minute new (late) venturer, via a back-door and “ expensive “ farm-in, enlighted mainly after Apache’s Maka-1 giant discovery?

Sometimes it is better to let smaller independents take the risk, to find giant fields.

And afterwards, step in just on time, with big money in the pocket, to take over part of the working interest in the license.

An exploration business strategy, that is often cheaper and more successful, than exploring with very high risk, in the front line.

Further, about myself.

Trusted All-in-One Petroleum & Energy Advisor

Proven. Strategic. Multidisciplinary. Results-Oriented.

🚀 Generating Billion-Dollar Discoveries. Shaping Global Energy Strategies.
With over 48 years of trusted, results-driven expertise in the global petroleum and energy sector, I offer end-to-end advisory that fuses exploration excellence with commercial foresight — delivering measurable long-term value and transformative breakthroughs.

From giant offshore discoveries and groundbreaking PSC designs, to leading first-of-its-kind capitalist ventures in the former USSR, my career is marked by strategic wins that continue to generate sustainable cash flows for major stakeholders across the world.

🔧 What I Deliver

• 🔍 Exploration Strategy & Subsurface Risk Mitigation
  Deepwater, Carbonates, Clastics, with global basin expertise, especially in the Guiana-Suriname Basin, Venezuela, Caribbean Area, North Sea, Continental Europe, even former Soviet Union, Siberia and West Africa,
• 📊 Investor & Board-Level Briefings
  Clear, C-suite-ready technical and commercial guidance rooted in almost 5 decades of hands-on insight.
• 🤝 PSC Negotiations & Bid Round Support
  Bespoke fiscal, legal, and technical terms that optimize value across contract lifecycles.
• 🛢️ M&A Support, Due Diligence & Portfolio Optimization
  Bridging data to value — from early-stage assessments to high-stakes deal closure.
• 🧠 Energy Transition, Policy & Innovation Roadmapping
  Helping nations and corporations bridge the traditional and new energy landscape — responsibly and profitably.

🌍 A Global Career Backed by Elite Credentials

• 📚 4 Postgraduate Degrees across Petroleum Geoscience, Engineering, Business & International Petroleum Management
• 💬 Fluent in 7 languages — enabling seamless collaboration across continents and cultures
• 🏆 Honored with elite awards:
  • Cambridge Award — “2000 Outstanding Scientists of the 20th Century”, UK
  • Paris GDF-Suez Awards — Innovative Business Projects, 2003
• 🎓 Certified:
  • Certified Petroleum Geologist #5201, AAPG (USA)
  • Chartered European Geologist #92, EFG (EU)
  • AIEN Certified Energy Negotiator

💼 Let’s Work Together

If you are a National Oil Company, Independent, Supermajor, Investor, or Government body seeking:

• Proven added-value advisory
• A trusted one-stop consultant who blends subsurface intelligence with legacy wisdom and boardroom strategy
• Or a senior sparring partner to guide high-stakes decisions in exploration, policy, or M&A

Then I invite you to reach out.

” Guiding you to make your own petroleum dreams come true “

📧 Email: marcelchinalien@gmail.com
🔗 LinkedIn: Marcel Chin-A-Lien Profile

🧭 “Exploration & Production Integrated with Business, Commercial Development, and Critical Insight”

Let’s shape the next billion-dollar discovery — together.