DUBAI - QatarEnergy has signed a deal to acquire a 20% interest in a production sharing contract for an offshore block in Suriname, it said on Thursday, boosting its participation in the nascent oil-producing country.

Chevron CVX.N, the operator of Suriname's offshore block 5, will retain a 40% interest, while Paradise Oil Company, an affiliate of Suriname's state oil firm Staatsolie, will own the remaining 40%.

Current oil output in Suriname is solely focused onshore, but several deepwater fields have been discovered in the country's waters since 2019. Its first major offshore oil production is roughly four years away.

Energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie has estimated Suriname's discovered resources at more than 2.4 billion barrels of oil and liquids and more than 12.5 trillion cubic feet of gas.

In December, Shell, TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy and Petronas signed production-sharing contracts with Staatsolie for three offshore blocks.

TotalEnergies said last month that it and APA Corp will make a final investment decision on the $9 billion block 58, Suriname's most promising oil and gas project, in the fourth quarter, aiming to begin output in 2028.

Block 58 lies adjacent to Exxon Mobil's massive Stabroek block in Guyana, where more than 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas have been found.

Block 5, which QatarEnergy announced taking a stake in on Thursday, is located offshore Suriname in shallow water depths of about 30-45 metres. The license is currently proceeding to its second exploration phase with a commitment to drill an exploration well.

"This agreement highlights our continued commitment to exploring the promising basins of Suriname and marks an exciting new partnership with Chevron in the international upstream sector," QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi said in a statement.

(Reporting by Sarah El Safty; Editing by Yousef Saba and Elaine Hardcastle)