TotalEnergies will start development studies for a major oil project worth $9 billion, with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, off the coast of Suriname. CEO Patrick Pouyanné announced this in Paramaribo, the capital of this small country in northeastern South America.
The CEO of the French oil giant explained the plans after a meeting on Wednesday with Surinamese President Chan Santokhi and the director of Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname, Annand Jagesar. The final investment decision is scheduled for the end of next year and actual production should start in 2028.
The low production costs per barrel of crude oil in the deep-sea area known as Block 58 makes oil extraction interesting for TotalEnergies and its American partner APA Corporation. Due to the favorable location of the oil field, these are around 20 dollars per barrel, while the production of a barrel of crude oil elsewhere in the world often costs 50 dollars or more.
Economic crisis
“We can earn between 16 billion and 26 billion dollars from this development,” said Jagesar of Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname during a press conference in Paramaribo.
The country is not having an easy time economically, is going through a recovery program and must meet the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The population is therefore having a hard time, is a frequently heard complaint in Paramaribo. But Staatsolie CEO Jagesar hopes that the government can relax the measures in consultation with the IMF, because of the upcoming oil revenues.
The state-owned company advises the government to transfer oil revenues to a ‘Sovereign Wealth Fund’ modeled on Norway, so that sustainable development can be achieved. Surinamese President Chan Santokhi, in turn, called it important to set up such a fund for future generations.
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2023-09-14 01:39:00
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