By Marcel Chin-A-Lien, Geoscientist & Energy Strategist
Published: May 2025 | www.petroleumenergyinsights.com

✨ Introduction: A Seismic Spark That Ignited a Basin

Ten years ago, in May 2015, a seemingly modest wildcat well offshore Guyana rewrote the global energy map.

Liza-1, drilled by ExxonMobil, was more than just a discovery—it was a revelation. Tapping into Upper Cretaceous slope fan reservoirs with over 90 meters of high-quality oil pay, it not only confirmed a working petroleum system in a long-overlooked basin—but also unveiled the Golden Lane, a geologically continuous, prolific deepwater fairway stretching from northwest Guyana into offshore Suriname.

Notably, the denomination “Golden Lane” or “Guyana Suriname Golden Lane (GSGL)” was coined and baptised by the author of this article in 2008.

But what really made Liza possible wasn’t luck. It was cutting-edge geophysics, especially the seismic reprocessing and amplitude versus offset (AVO) interpretation that differentiated ExxonMobil from past explorers like Shell and Repsol.

📊 AVO and Reprocessing: The Key to Liza’s Hidden Signature

Before 2015, numerous operators drilled dry holes across the margin. Legacy seismic data lacked resolution, and structural traps were rare. The deepwater turbidite systems—low-relief, stratigraphic fans—simply didn’t stand out.

ExxonMobil applied a bespoke seismic reprocessing sequence, optimized to:

• Preserve amplitude fidelity for AVO interpretation
• Reveal subtle slope and basin floor fans
• Extract direct hydrocarbon indicators (DHIs):
  • Class III AVO anomalies
  • Flat spots
  • Polarity reversals

They combined this with elastic impedance inversion, spectral decomposition, and pre-stack conditioning to isolate amplitude anomalies conformed to stratigraphy, not just structure.

🌐 Geophysical Gold: Class III AVO in the Golden Lane

At Liza-1, seismic analysis showed a textbook Class III AVO response:

• Bright amplitudes at near offset
• Strong amplitude increase with offset
• Negative polarity reflector at the top of the reservoir

A flat spot—interpreted as an oil-water contact (OWC)—confirmed hydrocarbon presence, while frequency anomalies revealed stacked channel-lobe complexes.

The same techniques unraveled similar patterns at Snoek, Turbot, Longtail, and Yellowtail — all in the same Upper Cretaceous slope fan system.

🌍 Lessons from West Africa: Why Guyana Worked Better

ExxonMobil’s seismic strategy in Guyana mirrored earlier projects in Angola (e.g., Kuito, Dalia) and Nigeria (e.g., Bonga, Agbami)—deepwater fans with amplitude anomalies.

But Guyana’s fans were younger, less compacted, and higher porosity, giving stronger AVO response and cleaner fluid contacts. This meant fewer “false positives” — a critical distinction in stratigraphic play exploration.

🇸🇷 Suriname’s Turn: What the Golden Lane Means for Blocks 52, 58 & 64

Fast forward to 2025. Guyana has 11 sanctioned FPSOs, producing over 1.3 million barrels/day. And across the border, Suriname is poised for its own deepwater leap.

Block 58 – Apache/TotalEnergies

Discoveries at Sapakara South and Krabdagu show similar stratigraphic trapping styles as Liza-Payara. Seismic shows AVO and flat spot DHIs, though sand quality is slightly more variable.

Block 52 – Petronas/ExxonMobil

Sloanea-1 & Roystonea-1 targeted slope fans in Lower/Upper Cretaceous settings. Encouraging, but amplitude anomalies less clear; reprocessing needed to unlock subtle pay zones.

Block 64 – Macaw-1, Spudded May 2025

Operated by TotalEnergies, this well targets a Lower/Upper Cretaceous fan complex.

My best guess, it is the former Tulluw Oil, Goliath South prospect, re-baptised as Macaw-1, to make it fly high based on seismic reprocessing, as I explained in a former essay and post on my website.

Seismic reprocessing in 2024 using new dual-azimuth, broadband datasets revealed flat-spot–like features and possible phase reversal AVO signatures.

Macaw-1 may be the defining test of whether the Golden Lane continues into Suriname’s carbonate margin.

🧭 Final Thoughts: A Diplomatic Prognosis

If Liza-1 was the keystone of Guyana’s energy renaissance, then Macaw-1 could be the gateway for the NE area of Suriname.

The combination of:

• Modern AVO-calibrated seismic techniques,
• Basin-wide fan system correlation,
• And deepwater operational success across the border,

…makes 2025–2026 the most consequential exploration window in Suriname’s history.

In this light, Suriname’s Blocks 52, 58, and 64 are not merely exploration acreage—they are chapters in the ongoing story of the Golden Lane.

📚 References

1. ExxonMobil (2019–2023). Investor & Technical Briefings – Stabroek Block Discoveries.
2. SEG (2017). Enhanced Imaging and Amplitude Preservation for Deepwater Stratigraphic Prospects in the Guyana Basin.
3. AAPG Bulletin. Horn, M. & Pindell, T. (2018). Petroleum Systems of the Guyana-Suriname Basin.
4. Hess Corporation (2020–2023). Investor Presentations: Golden Lane Discoveries.
5. CGG (2022). Offshore Suriname Reprocessing Project – Block 64.
6. TGS (2021). Deepwater AVO Screening in the Guyana-Suriname Margin.

Kind regards.

Marcel Chin-A-Lien

Petroleum and Energy Advisor

48 Years of Global, in-depth expertise, knowhow and insights.

That have generated transformative, multi billion giant fields discoveries, iconic first capitalistic new ventures in the USSR, bid rounds, added value and long term cash flow generating offshore exploration and production activities on Dutch North Sea, M&A, PSC designs, Contract negotiations.

Combined with a cross & trans discipline background of 4 petroleum post grad degrees, that fuse technical, business, commercial and management disciplines, accompanied by fluency in 7 languages in a variety of geographical, socio-cultural and business landscapes. 

“ Exploration & Production integrated with Business & Commercial Development and Critical Insights “

Drs – Petroleum Geology
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Executive MBA International Business – Petroleum – M&A
MSc International Management – Petroleum

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Paris Awards  “ Innovative New Business Projects “, GDF-Suez, France – Two Gold standard Awards, Paris, 2003.

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