Macaw-1: A Defining Drill Test Guided by Seismic Precision

By Marcel Chin-A-Lien, Petroleum & Energy Advisor| 18th May 2025

As the drill bit prepares to turn on Macaw-1, to be spudded 19th May 2025, TotalEnergies and its partners step into one of the most promising, yet geologically intricate corners of the Guyana-Suriname Basin:

Block 64, offshore Suriname.

The stakes are high, but so is the science.

This well will not just test a prospect;

It will test years of geophysical refinement and technological evolution—powered by a comprehensive 3D seismic reprocessing campaign.

Its success could redefine Suriname’s role in global deepwater petroleum exploration.

🌍 

Geological Setting and Context

Macaw-1 exploration well in Block 64, offshore Suriname, lies just near former Tullow’s Goliath North well, a high-profile dry hole drilled in 2020.

FYI, a funny geo-memory anecdote:

While serving Petroleum Contracts, Staatsolie in 2008-2010?

I “ sold “ this area and surrounding to Tullow?

I sat together with their exploration manager in front of the workstation, explained the play concept and the millions and millions of barrels and economic benefits that lay ahead for Tullow?

It was “ sold “ in 15 minutes.

Soon afterwards they sent their chief geologist and business development manager.

To proceed with the license details and…PSC clauses…(that they did not like at all, at first).

Fortunately the business manager was only an finance expert, without the insight, so see what lay ahead for them in the subsurface.

To test, I put him in front of the workstation, just alone, to make up his mind…

Myself I liked this NE offshore area and the play concepts, that I was so privileged to present and publish, very successfully, on behalf of Staatsolie.

(…Afterwards, I got an email with as evaluation of the presentation “ Outstanding “ from the Conference Organizers, based on an inquiry amongst the attendants).

In Port of Spain, december 2009, Caribbean Energy Conference, in the lovely Hilton Trinidad & Conference Centre.

(…By the way, when I arrived at the Piarco Trinidad airport?

I was taken apart to be rigorously checked, and the first question was:

” What are you coming to do in Trinidad?

I responded I was invited by their Minister of Energy to give a talk at the important Conference.

After I showed the copy, they checked it, and I was privileged to enter T&T….

Needless to say…that I have never dared to return and visit, afterwards, just stop-overs at the airport though…

My wife said: we will never go back to that place…).

The failure was a cautionary tale:

• Misidentified structural closure
• Unclear stratigraphic pinch-outs
• Flawed velocity modeling

These issues underscored the complexity of interpreting turbidite plays in deepwater environments, especially under vintage seismic data.

But technology has moved on.

🔍 

Why Reprocessing? What’s Changed?

Recognizing the limitations of legacy data, TotalEnergies launched a seismic reprocessing initiative in early 2024, integrating three Narrow Azimuth marine streamer surveys covering 4,218 km², producing a harmonized volume of 3,705 km².

Key Objectives of the Reprocessing:

1. Sharper Fault Imaging and Structural Detail
   
   • High-frequency RTM (45 Hz) and KPSDM resolve fault displacements down to 10–20 m.
   • Enhanced identification of channel-levee systems and stratigraphic traps that could host hydrocarbons.
3. Accurate Depth Conversion
   
   • TTI velocity model building (VMB) paired with FWI (8 Hz) drastically reduces uncertainty in depth positioning.
   • Depth error range improved from 70–100 meters to less than 30–40 meters.
5. Better Fluid Prediction
   
   • 4–5 angle stacks and Class III AVO response seen at Macaw-1’s primary target—similar to ExxonMobil’s Liza and Payara reservoirs.
7. Improved Trap-Seal Definition
   
   • Deghosting and demultiple techniques uncover clearer fault seals and overlying shale drapes.
   • Confirms a 4-way dip closure, a key risk factor previously unresolved in pre-reprocessing interpretations.

🧠 

Lessons from Goliath North—and Beyond

Goliath North serves as a direct analogue, but one with cautionary notes.

It failed not for lack of hydrocarbons, but due to imprecise mapping of closure and migration pathways.

Macaw-1 is designed to avoid that fate (…I hope so), thanks to:

• Improved seismic fidelity,
• More robust structural understanding, and
• Data-driven risk mitigation.

Case Study Parallel:

Similar reprocessing saved the SNE discovery offshore Senegal. Initial dry wells in the 1990s were re-evaluated with new seismic tools, leading to Cairn Energy’s world-class find in 2014.

🚀 

Implications for Suriname

If Macaw-1 proves successful, it will:

• Validate the eastern petroleum system of the basin;
• De-risk thousands of square kilometers in Block 64 and beyond;
• Attract new capital, operators, and infrastructure investment;
• Accelerate the build-up to Suriname’s first deepwater production phase.

For Suriname’s economy, it could mark the turning point from a hydrocarbon frontier to a proven province.

💬 

Final Thought: Exploration Meets Responsibility

Macaw-1 stands at the intersection of geoscience precision and national aspiration. It’s more than a well. It’s a scientific test of what we now know—and a statement about what we’re ready to become.

As the bit bites into Suriname’s deepwater secrets, we ask:

What do you believe is the role of seismic innovation in reshaping frontier oil exploration today?

Join the conversation. Your insights matter.

Kind regrads.

Tan bun, odi odi, soso lobi.

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 “

Drs – Petroleum Geology
Engineering Geologist – Petroleum Geology

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

Energy Negotiator Association of International Negotiators (AIEN)

Certified Petroleum Geologist # 5201 – American Association Petroleum Geologists – Gold standard Certification
Chartered European Geologist # 92    – European Federation of Geologists – Gold standard Certification

Cambridge Award  “ 2000 Outstanding Scientists of the 20th Century ”, UK – Gold standard Award
Paris Awards  “ Innovative New Business Projects “, GDF-Suez, France – Two Gold standard Awards, Paris, 2003.

Public Profile: nl.linkedin.com/pub/marcel-chin-a-lien/9/a73/547/

Email: marcelchinalien@gmail.com