After the discovery of oil in Suriname’s territorial waters in January 2020, the government in the capital Paramaribo pitched its hopes on an oil boom matching that of neighboring Guyana. You see, decades of economic mismanagement, excessive spending, and corruption wreaked havoc on the former Dutch colony’s economy. Over the last decade, gross domestic product (GDP) collapsed, plunging by over 10%, hitting Suriname’s population of over 600,000 particularly hard. This exploded in violence during February 2023, with protestors storming parliament, placing greater pressure on the government to find a solution.
As Guyana’s oil boom gained momentum, with production commencing in December 2019, partners TotalEnergies and APA Corporation announced in January 2020 that they had made a significant oil discovery in Suriname’s territorial waters. This occurred with the Maka Central-1 wildcat well in Block 58 offshore Suriname. The well, which was drilled to 20,670 feet (6,300 meters), found 240 feet (73 meters) of oil pay and 164 feet (50 meters) of light oil and gas condensate pay. This was followed by four additional major discoveries in Block 58, where TotalEnergies is the operator holding a 50% working interest with the remainder held by APA Corporation.
Suriname
Source: APA Corporation Investor Relations.
While there was considerable conjecture about when those discoveries would be developed, President Chan Santokhi was claiming as early as 2021 that Suriname would see first oil from Block 58 by as early as 2025. This proved to be wishful thinking on the part of Suriname’s former president. Not only does it typically take a decade or even more to develop major offshore petroleum projects, with a global average of seven to 10 years, but by 2022, TotalEnergies was increasingly concerned by a swathe of poor drilling results.
As a result, the French supermajor and APA by 2022 elected to delay the multi-billion-dollar final investment decision (FID) for Block 58. The main drivers of that decision were conflicting drilling and seismic results, along with the high gas-to-oil ratio of earlier discoveries. This delayed the development of Block 58, which is believed to contain up to 6.5 billion barrels of oil. That unforeseen development derailed Paramaribo’s planned economic recovery driven by oil extraction. During October 2024, TotalEnergies announced the final investment decision for Block 58, approving a $10.5 billion project to develop the Sapakara and Krabdagu oil discoveries.
The development called GranMorgu is targeting an oil reservoir estimated to contain more than 750 million barrels of recoverable oil reserves. The facility, which includes an all-electric floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel with the capability to retain all gas produced from lifting operations, will be commissioned in 2028. The GranMorgu development will have a nameplate capacity to lift 220,000 barrels of crude oil daily. Suriname’s national oil company (NOC) Staatsolie exercised the right to acquire a 20% interest in the operation by raising the required funds through a combination of issuing bonds, cash reserves, and a syndicated loan.
When GranMorgu commences operations, it will make a significant contribution to Suriname’s beaten-down economy, although it may not be the economic silver bullet anticipated by Paramaribo. There is significant hydrocarbon potential in offshore Suriname, indicating the country is ideally positioned to enjoy a massive oil boom. Block 58 lies contiguous to the prolific Stabroek Block in offshore Guyana, where Exxon discovered at least 11 billion barrels of oil. There is considerable speculation that the abundant petroleum fairway contained in that oil block continues into Block 58. If this is the case, it will support further major oil discoveries and the development of facilities, which will boost production.
TotalEnergies, during June 2025, signed an agreement securing a 25% working interest in Block 53 offshore Suriname. The remaining 45% is held by APA, which is the operator, and Malaysia’s NOC Petronas with 30%. It is in this block that APA made the Baja-1 discovery in August 2022. The wildcat well which was drilled to 17,356 feet (5,290 meters), contains 112 feet (34 meters) of net oil pay. The petroleum system discovered forms part of the same structure as the Krabdagu discovery in Block 58. This points to the discovery possessing considerable potential, although APA returned most of Block 53, except for the area around the Baja-1 well to Staatsolie after the exploration period expired during December 2023.
Petronas is also enjoying success with its offshore hydrocarbon acreage in Suriname, where it holds interests in Blocks 9, 10, 48, 52, 53, 63, 64, and 66. It is 1.2-million-acre Block 52 offshore Suriname, where Petronas is the operator and controls 80% with 20% held by Staatsolie, which holds the most near-term potential. Exxon initially held a 50% working interest in the hydrocarbon acreage but chose to exit, transferring its share to Petronas, giving it a 100% stake, although Suriname’s NOC exercised its right to acquire 20% of the block.
During November 2025, Petronas declared the commerciality of the Sloanea natural gas field in Block 52. This was preceded by Staatsolie, in its role as Suriname’s hydrocarbon regulator, approving the development of a natural gas field for the Sloanea-1 discovery. The FID for the Sloanea-1 discovery is expected during the second half of 2026, with first gas slated for 2030. While neither party has yet to release information to quantify the volume of natural gas targeted, it is believed to be quite a substantial find.
Petronas also made two oil discoveries in Block 52 with the Roystonea-1 and Fusaea-1 wildcat wells during 2023 and 2024, respectively. Those petroleum discoveries are yet to be fully evaluated, but Block 52 is estimated to contain at least 500 million barrels of crude oil. Petronas also signed a production sharing contract (PSC) with Staatsolie for Block 66 in June 2025. This agreement awarded an 80% working interest to Malaysia’s NOC, with the remaining 20% held by a subsidiary of Staatsolie. By signing the PSC, Petronas, which is the operator, agreed to drill two exploration wells in the 837,687-acre block.
By Matthew Smith for Oilprice.com
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