Staatsolie eases the avalability of 60% of Suriname's offshore acreage to E&Ps

Suriname’s state-owned Staatsolie's has launched an Open-Door Offering, making approximately 60% of Suriname's offshore acreage more available to exploration and production companies. The programme includes shallow to deepwater zones featuring over 90 identified leads supported by multiple working petroleum systems.

"This initiative opens new opportunities for exploration and production companies and aims to maintain a high level of exploration activities offshore Suriname, unlocking development and production," Staatsolie Managing Director Annand Jagesar announced in a public statement.

Companies can select acreage, propose their own work programmes, and choose between production sharing contracts, joint study agreements or technical evaluation agreements.

To support the process, Staatsolie introduced a new GeoPortal providing interactive geological and geophysical data, along with the GeoAtlas of Suriname, a free resource detailing basin geology.

The Guyana-Suriname Basin holds an estimated 10bn barrels of recoverable oil. The GranMorgu project in Block 58, scheduled to start production in 2028 with a capacity of 220,000 barrels per day, represents over $10bn in investment.

Suriname is also preparing for a digital transformation as telecommunications companies Telesur and Orange Global Networks expand the country's international connectivity to support surging data demand driven by offshore oil development.

The memorandum of understanding, signed on November 19 in Paramaribo in the presence of Tourism, Transport and Communication Minister Raymond Landveld, French Ambassador Nicolas de Lacoste and company executives, will deliver 140 Gbps of new capacity on top of the existing 100 Gbps infrastructure through Orange's regional systems, including the Kanawa cable between French Guiana and Martinique.

"Internet demand in Suriname is increasing by about 30% every year. Right now, the demand is around 240 Gbps," Telesur CEO Doric Ramlakhan told OilNOW. "[The] oil and gas sector is growing in Suriname, so we have to keep up."

The partnership includes development of satellite connectivity for floating production, storage and offloading vessels operating over 100km offshore, enabling real-time operational data, remote monitoring and higher-bandwidth communication.

Initial tests are planned for next year, with Ramlakhan confirming full fibre coverage in Paramaribo is expected by March 2026. A strengthened link to Martinique will serve as backup to the SG-SCS system running to Trinidad, providing crucial redundancy.

These parallel developments in digital infrastructure and hydrocarbon exploration position Suriname for significant economic transformation. The expanded connectivity and competitive licensing terms appear to demonstrate the country's strategic approach to resource development.

However, Suriname's success will depend on maintaining investor-friendly policies, delivering reliable infrastructure and meeting international environmental standards as it transitions from onshore production to becoming a major offshore oil producer capable of competing with neighbouring Guyana's rapidly growing sector.