What GranMorgu is
The numbers
GranMorgu specification
| Fields | Sapakara South and Krabdagu, Block 58 |
| Distance offshore | About 150 km |
| Investment at FID | About US$10.5 billion, sanctioned October 2024 |
| Resource | More than 750 million barrels; TotalEnergies has cited up to 800 million with better seismic |
| FPSO capacity | 220,000 barrels of oil a day |
| Gas processing | 500 million cubic feet a day, reinjected rather than flared |
| Topside weight | About 50,000 tonnes |
| Wells planned | Up to 32, producers and water or gas injectors |
| Ownership | TotalEnergies 40% (operator), APA Corporation 40%, Staatsolie 20% |
| Staatsolie’s cost | About US$2.4 billion, financed with a US$516 million bond and a US$1.6 billion syndicated loan |
| First oil target | 2028 |
How it works
From seabed to tanker in five steps
Drill and complete the wells
A drillship sinks wells into the reservoir roughly two kilometres below the seabed and installs a subsea tree, a valve stack, on top of each one. Up to 32 wells are planned, including injectors that push water or gas back down to keep reservoir pressure up.
Connect them
Flowlines, risers and umbilicals link the trees back to the vessel. Saipem holds the subsea contract, worth around US$1.9 billion. Placing this hardware accurately is why an acoustic positioning system was shipped to Paramaribo before anything else.
Separate on board
What arrives at the FPSO is a mixture of oil, gas, water and sand. The topsides, about 50,000 tonnes of processing equipment, split it. Water is treated, gas is reinjected, oil is stabilised.
Store in the hull
The vessel is its own tank farm. Crude accumulates in the hull until a shuttle tanker comes alongside.
Offload and sell
Tankers take the crude to refineries abroad and it is priced against Brent. This is the point at which Suriname earns royalty and profit oil.
Who builds what
The contractor map
| Scope | Company | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| FPSO | SBM Offshore with Technip Energies | Fast4Ward-style hull, all-electric drive. Hull entered dry dock at the COSCO yard in China in April 2026 for topsides integration. |
| Subsea installation | Saipem | Approximately US$1.9 billion scope covering flowlines, risers and installation. |
| Subsea production systems | TechnipFMC | Christmas trees and related hardware, assembled and system-integration tested in Malaysia. |
| Drilling | Contracted by TotalEnergies | TotalEnergies has signalled a more integrated well-construction contracting model for Suriname. |
| Workforce pipeline | STS joint venture | SBM Offshore, Technip Energies and Suriname run a 19-month graduate programme; the first Surinamese cohort trained in Kuala Lumpur. |
Progress log
What has actually happened, and what is next
| When | Milestone |
|---|---|
| January 2026 | TotalEnergies Suriname puts the development above 750 million barrels and says better seismic could reach 800 million. |
| February 2026 | TotalEnergies signals a more integrated contracting model for the Suriname wells. |
| March 2026 | Rystad Energy details the 50,000-tonne topside and 500 mmcf/d gas processing. Subsea trees 1 to 4 complete, 5 to 7 in assembly. |
| Late March 2026 | First subsea equipment lands in Suriname: components of the long baseline acoustic positioning system arrive at the Dr. Jules Sedney Terminal, Paramaribo. |
| April 2026 | The FPSO hull enters dry dock in China ahead of topsides integration. |
| May 2026 | TechnipFMC and TotalEnergies complete stack-up and system integration testing of a production tree in Malaysia. Six Surinamese graduates on the STS programme meet SBM Offshore leadership in Kuala Lumpur. |
| Late 2026 to Q1 2027 | Development drilling scheduled to begin. Offshore installation activity ramps up. |
| 2027 | FPSO sail-away, mooring, hook-up and commissioning offshore Suriname. |
| 2028 | Target for first oil and ramp-up toward 220,000 barrels a day. |
What could go wrong
The honest version
FPSO projects are among the most schedule-sensitive things in heavy industry. A yard delay in China, a problem during hook-up, or slower-than-planned development drilling all push first oil to the right. Historically, deepwater projects of this size slip more often than they arrive early.
There is also reservoir risk. Sapakara South and Krabdagu are well appraised, but production behaviour is only truly known once the field is flowing, and the ramp to plateau can be slower than the design rate suggests.
And there is spill risk. GranMorgu sits in a basin with strong currents, upstream of mangrove coastline and small-scale fisheries. The National Oil Spill Response Plan is being updated and the 2026 ministry budget allocates funds for offshore risk analysis, which is an acknowledgement that the capability is not fully in place yet. More on the institutional side is on the who governs it page.
Where this comes from
Sources
Figures on this page come from operator announcements, Staatsolie, the Surinamese government and the energy trade press. Projects move, so treat forward-looking dates as targets rather than promises.
- Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V.
- Ministry of Oil, Gas and Environment (OGM)
- TotalEnergies: GranMorgu project
- Offshore Magazine: Suriname offshore E&P frontier (Jun 2026)
- OilNOW: GranMorgu H1 2026 progress
- IMF: Suriname 2025 Article IV Consultation
- SEOGS: Suriname Energy, Oil & Gas Summit
- TotalEnergies: FID press release for GranMorgu
Page data last reviewed 2026-08-02.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does GranMorgu mean?
It is Sranan Tongo, and it works two ways. Read as words it means new dawn, which is how TotalEnergies and the government present the project. It is also the local name for the goliath grouper, a heavy fish of Suriname’s coastal waters that carries associations of strength and long life. Our Sranan Tongo dictionary has more of the language.
When will GranMorgu produce first oil?
The target is 2028. As of mid-2026 the project is in construction: the FPSO hull is in dry dock in China, subsea trees are being built in Malaysia and development drilling is scheduled to start in late 2026 or the first quarter of 2027.
How much oil will GranMorgu produce?
The FPSO is designed for 220,000 barrels a day, with gas processing capacity of 500 million cubic feet a day. The development holds more than 750 million barrels of oil, and TotalEnergies has said improved seismic could take that toward 800 million.
Who owns GranMorgu?
TotalEnergies operates with 40%, APA Corporation holds 40% and Staatsolie holds 20% after exercising its back-in right. Staatsolie’s share cost about US$2.4 billion, funded with a US$516 million bond and a US$1.6 billion syndicated loan from 18 institutions.
Will there be flaring?
The design targets minimal routine flaring. Associated gas is reinjected rather than burned, and the FPSO uses an all-electric drive, which is the main reason TotalEnergies presents GranMorgu as a lower-emission development.
Where exactly is it?
About 150 kilometres off the Suriname coast in Block 58, developing the Sapakara South and Krabdagu fields. Nothing is visible from shore.