Suriname and Guyana are taking significant steps toward jointly exploiting gas reserves off their coasts. Staatsolie director Annand Jagesar stressed the importance of this collaboration, acknowledging that while immediate outcomes are unlikely, both countries are committed to developing a shared approach.
In a recent meeting with Guyana’s Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, Jagesar discussed the potential of the Makka and Kwaskwasi discoveries in Suriname, as well as the Haimara and Pluma discoveries in Guyana. He emphasized that collaboration could enhance operational scale, but many logistical and technical challenges still need to be addressed before progressing.
Jagesar was in Guyana as part of a Suriname delegation that included Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation Minister, Albert Ramdin that met with Guyana’s Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo.
Ramdin said that the meeting in Guyana “took place in a very pleasant and open atmosphere,” and that both countries recognise the importance of cooperation in the field of gas.
He said there are possibilities and the two countries will tackle them together with Staatsolie with the state-owned oil company now engaged in exchanging information with the authorities in Guyana at a technical and business level and record what the joint potential is.
Ramdin said based on this, strategies and scenarios will be made on how the intended cooperation can take shape.
“In any case, this will have a high priority in the coming two to three months and the intention of this conversation was to clearly agree at government level that this must be part of the strategic cooperation in oil and gas between Suriname and Guyana.”
He said the technical details will be discussed in the coming weeks.
Immediately after Staatsolie, TotalEnergies and Apache Corporation announced on 1 October that the final investment decision (FID) for the production of oil reserves in Block 58 had been taken, Jagdeo contacted the Surinamese government, requesting that discussions be held soon about jointly exploiting the gas reserves of the two neighbouring countries.
Meanwhile, Staatsolie is moving towards a second FID, namely in Block 52, where Malaysian Petronas has discovered recoverable oil reserves.
There are reports that Malaysian Petronas has found an amount equal to more than 400 million barrels of oil there, allowing for a project that would utilise 100,000 barrels of oil daily.
Last week, Staatsolie began discussions with Petronas to get this project off the ground and Jagesar explained that they could announce the FID as early as 2027 and begin oil production in Block 52 by 2030.
