Surinamese given options to invest in first oil project

Feb 17, 2025 News

---

 …locals can invest as little as US$100     

Kaieteur News- Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V, the state-owned oil company has launched a new bond to raise at least US$250 million and EUR 50 million to help fund the country’s participation in its first oil project, the GranMorgu offshore oil field in Block 58.

The official launch of the bond issuance took place on 31 January 2025.

The Staatsolie Bond 2025-2033, which is available in both US dollars and euros, takes effect on 23 March 2025, and has an eight-year term. The interest rate is set at 7.75% for the US$ bond and 7.25% for the EUR bond.

Local investors can participate from as little as US$100 or EUR 100, a strategy that makes it accessible to as many people in Suriname as possible. Staatsolie said for larger investors residing in Suriname, Curaçao, or Sint Maarten, a denomination of US$ 30,000 is available.

The subscription period runs from February 3 to February 25, with allocation on 10 March. Payments can be made from March 10 to March 18.

According to the Suriname oil company, “Subscribing is made very accessible and can be done online or at any bank in Suriname. The subscription form and all relevant details can be found at www.staatsolieobligatie.com.

De Surinaamsche Bank (DSB) is the lead arranger for this bond issuance. The bonds will be publicly tradable on the Dutch Caribbean Securities Exchange (DCSX) and the Suriname Stock Exchange (SSX).”

In its production-sharing contract with TotalEnergies, the operator of Block 58, it was agreed that Staatsolie will take up to a 20% stake in the first-ever offshore oil field in Suriname, the GranMorgu.

The name “GranMorgu” means both “new dawn” and “Goliath grouper” in Sranan Tongo, the local language.

The total investment for the project is estimated at US$12.2 billion, with Staatsolie’s share amounting to US$ 2.4 billion.

The Suriname oil company explained, “The proceeds from this bond issuance will help Staatsolie finance its portion, reducing the need for bank loans. The company has also set aside cash reserves for the GranMorgu investment. Another key objective of this bond issuance is to refinance the Staatsolie Bonds 2020-2025 and 2020-2027, which previously raised US$ 195 million to support the 2020-2027 investment programme.”

The GranMorgu project will develop the Sapakara and Krabdagu oil discoveries, on which a successful exploration and appraisal campaign was completed in 2023.

The fields are located 150 km off the coast of Suriname and hold recoverable reserves estimated at over 750 million barrels. First oil at the project is expected by 2028 TotalEnergies said in its Final Investment Decision (FID).

The project includes 220,000 barrels of oil per day Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit.

TotalEnergies is the operator of Block 58 with a 50% interest, alongside APA Corporation (50%).

Suriname’s oil deal includes a 6.25 % royalty; a profit split formula that allows the country to benefit from higher oil prices and a stable tax rate of 36%.

GUYANA VS SURINAME

Guyana’s oil deal has been compared to the new-comer in the past by Managing Director Staatsolie, Annand Jagesar, who highlighted the low returns Guyana accepted in its Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil and partners. This includes a measly 2% royalty, no taxes and 50% profit split after 75% is deducted by Exxon for costs.

Jagesar made it clear that Suriname’s position is that “…everybody has to survive in this partnership.”

In the meantime, Guyana’s Chief Policymaker for the oil and gas sector, Bharrat Jagdeo previously admitted that Suriname has better terms in their agreement than Guyana’s 2016 agreement.

Jagdeo in laying blame on the former administration for the 2016 oil deal noting that his government fixed the deal by addressing the non-fiscal terms so that Guyanese can benefit more from the sector.

“We sought to fix this by getting more benefits from the contract through the Local Content Law, the Gas-to-Energy project so that we can claim other non-fiscal benefits from the contract and we have had Exxon agree with that from the time we got into office, but this is great and I am happy for Suriname, very happy for them they have worked very hard at this,” he reasoned.

It should be noted that Guyana does not have a stake in the massive petroleum production activities ongoing offshore in the Stabroek Block. ExxonMobil has increased its daily production capacity to almost 700,000 barrels at the three projects – Liza One, Liza Two and Payara.

Guyana’s leaders have refused to implement a ring-fencing provision which would have allowed the country to receive higher profits today, since the cost of these three developments have already been recovered by Exxon. Since February 2024, President of EMGL, Alistair Routledge revealed that Exxon had already recovered some US$19B in expenses.

It should be noted that the three oil projects currently producing oil, the Liza One, Liza Two, and Payara projects collectively carry a price tag of about US$19B. This means that the country could have been receiving higher profits this year from the three projects; however, in the absence of ring-fencing, Exxon will use the revenue to invest in other developments and even fund its exploration programme.

Essentially, ring-fencing means that profits from one project must cover the expenses for that initiative. In the absence of such a provision, a company is allowed to use profits from one project to cover the costs of another.

(Surinamese given options to invest in first oil project)

---

• Block 58, bond, oil project, Staatsolie, Suriname

---