TotalEnergies and APA Approve $10.5 Billion Oil and Gas Project in Suriname, According to Reuters

By Ank Kuipers and Marianna Parraga

PARAMARIBO – France’s TotalEnergies and U.S. company APA Corp announced on Tuesday that they have made a positive investment decision regarding Suriname’s most promising oil and gas project, Block 58, which is anticipated to kickstart the nation’s offshore production.

TotalEnergies aims to commence operations at the $10.5 billion project in the first half of 2028. This move follows a recent disclosure about the financial approval for the initiative.

Suriname seeks to emulate its neighbor, Guyana, which, through a consortium led by Exxon Mobil, has identified over 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas resources.

The South American nation is focused on establishing a more advantageous legal framework that includes increased royalties, taxes, and signing bonuses, with plans to reinvest these revenues into healthcare and local initiatives.

The announcement was made during a meeting at Suriname’s presidential cabinet, attended by President Chan Santokhi, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne, APA CEO John Christmann, and Staatsolie’s CEO Annand Jagesar.

"Our policy, which will be upheld by any government, is aimed at significantly raising the standard of living for our population," stated Santokhi.

FAST-TRACK DEVELOPMENT

TotalEnergies and APA intend to develop the Sapakara and Krabdagu fields, now referred to as "Gran Morgu," with combined recoverable resources estimated to exceed 700 million barrels.

"We take great pride in the swift progress we’ve made," Pouyanne remarked about the development timeline, which took just one year from well appraisal completion to the final investment decision (FID).

A Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility, currently under construction in Asia with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, is set to be one of the largest for the company, according to Pouyanne. The contracts for this and other projects, including collaborations with energy infrastructure firms, total approximately $7 billion.

As part of the approved field development plan, a total of 32 new wells will be drilled, as stated by the companies.

TotalEnergies, the project’s operator, anticipates recovering about $1.4 billion that has been invested in exploration activities in the area since 2019.

Staatsolie has been actively raising funds to secure a 20% stake in the project. CEO Jagesar noted that the company has already received an initial payment of $175 million and is presently negotiating with banks to arrange a bond offer for a subsequent payment.

Pouyanne indicated that the deadline for Staatsolie to fulfill its investment commitment could be extended until December of next year if needed.

Christmann emphasized the geological potential of the Atlantic Margin’s deep waters, which have led to significant discoveries in Guyana, Suriname, and Brazil.

"FID is a point of no return," Jagesar asserted. "Suriname will never be the same."