PARAMARIBO, Suriname – President Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi has welcomed the outcome of a weekend workshop on the oil and gas sector in Suriname, saying it provided a useful insight that “we as a nation are on the way to a sustainable and prosperous future”.
Participants at the workshop on the oil and gas sectors.The workshop was attended by various stakeholders in both the short and long term sectors including policy makers and experts and Santokhi said “we looked at how the gas potential can contribute to economic growth and sustainable energy solutions.
“It is extremely important that we continue to believe in our strength. We are a leading country in the world as a carbon-negative country, and it is time to position ourselves as such,” he said.
“Our forest and our oxygen protect not only us, but also the entire world. We must consciously deal with our fossil fuels and work on a gradual phase-out towards 2050-2060,” Santokhi noted.
According to Santokhi, it is crucial that the carbon-negative status is maintained, while the energy industry is further developed.
“The workshop has shown us again that gas energy, in addition to oil, can make a significant contribution to our economy. This concerns gas that comes with oil extraction and gas that occurs independently,” he added.
Suriname’s oil and gas industry is growing rapidly, with recent discoveries and new deals with international oil companies. The country has the potential to become a major international oil producer.
Suriname’s total discovered recoverable oil resources total 2.4 billion barrels while recoverable natural gas resources exceed 12.5 trillion cubic feet. Since 2020, nine deepwater oilfields have been identified in Suriname’s territorial waters.
