How to read this page
The map in table form
Every contracted block, who runs it and what stage it is at
| Block | Water | Operator | Partners | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block 58 | Deepwater | TotalEnergies (40%) | APA Corporation 40%, Staatsolie 20% | Development |
| Block 52 | Deepwater | PETRONAS (80%) | Staatsolie 20% | Pre-FID |
| Block 53 | Deepwater | APA Corporation (45%) | PETRONAS 30%, TotalEnergies 25% | Exploration |
| Block 5 | Shallow offshore | Chevron | Paradise Oil Company (Staatsolie), QatarEnergy; Shell took a stake via farm-out | Exploration |
| Block 7 | Shallow offshore | Chevron (80%) | Paradise Oil Company (Staatsolie) 20% | Exploration |
| Blocks 6 and 8 | Shallow offshore | TotalEnergies | QatarEnergy, Paradise Oil Company (Staatsolie) 40% | Exploration |
| Block 64 | Deepwater | TotalEnergies (40%) | QatarEnergy 30%, PETRONAS 30% | Exploration |
| Block 65 | Deepwater | Shell (BG International) | QatarEnergy | Exploration |
| Block 63 | Deepwater | PETRONAS | Staatsolie back-in right | Exploration |
| Blocks 9 and 10 | Shallow offshore | PETRONAS and Chevron | Staatsolie back-in right | Exploration |
| Onshore: Tambaredjo, Tambaredjo North-West, Calcutta | Onshore (Saramacca) | Staatsolie (100%) | None | Producing |
Block detail
What is in each one
Block 58 · Deepwater
Home of the GranMorgu development (Sapakara South and Krabdagu fields), about 150 km offshore. FID October 2024. First oil targeted 2028.
Block 52 · Deepwater
4,749 km2. Sloanea gas field declared commercial in late 2025; a floating LNG development is the leading concept with FID targeted in the second half of 2026 and first gas around 2030. Roystonea and Fusaea oil finds still under evaluation.
Block 53 · Deepwater
Sits directly against Block 58. Holds the Baja-1 discovery. TotalEnergies farmed in for 25% in June 2025.
Block 5 · Shallow offshore
Korikori-1 was drilled here in the 2025 campaign.
Block 7 · Shallow offshore
Awarded in the Shallow Offshore Bid Round 2020-2021.
Blocks 6 and 8 · Shallow offshore
30-year production sharing contracts finalised in May 2023.
Block 64 · Deepwater
Awarded out of the Demerara Bid Round. Macaw-1 was drilled here in 2025.
Block 65 · Deepwater
Araku Deep-1 was the headline well going into 2026.
Block 63 · Deepwater
Also awarded out of the Demerara Bid Round (2022-2023).
Blocks 9 and 10 · Shallow offshore
Production sharing contracts signed as the shallow offshore acreage was opened up.
Onshore: Tambaredjo, Tambaredjo North-West, Calcutta · Onshore (Saramacca)
Suriname's only production today: heavy Saramacca Crude, piped 55 km to the Tout Lui Faut refinery near Paramaribo.
The discovery record
The wells that built the story
Suriname was drilled unsuccessfully for decades. What changed was the Guyana side of the basin proving the play in 2015, which redirected seismic interpretation and led straight to Maka Central in 2020. Success rates since have been mixed, which is normal for a frontier basin.
| Well | Block | Year | Operator | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maka Central-1 | 58 | 2020 | Apache / Total | Oil and condensate. The discovery that put Suriname on the map. |
| Sapakara West-1 | 58 | 2020 | Apache / Total | Oil and condensate. |
| Kwaskwasi-1 | 58 | 2020 | Apache / Total | Oil and condensate. |
| Sloanea-1 | 52 | 2020 | PETRONAS | Gas. Declared commercial in late 2025; anchor for a possible FLNG project. |
| Sapakara South-1 | 58 | 2021 | TotalEnergies | Oil. One of the two fields feeding GranMorgu. |
| Krabdagu-1 | 58 | 2022 | TotalEnergies | Oil. The second GranMorgu field. |
| Baja-1 | 53 | 2023 | APA Corporation | Discovery close to the Block 58 boundary. |
| Roystonea-1 / -2 | 52 | 2024-2026 | PETRONAS | Hydrocarbons; appraisal ongoing. |
| Korikori-1 | 5 | 2025 | Chevron | Shallow-offshore exploration well. |
| Macaw-1 | 64 | 2025 | TotalEnergies | Deepwater exploration well. |
| Caiman-1 | 52 | 2025 | PETRONAS | Deepwater exploration well. |
| Araku Deep-1 | 65 | 2025-2026 | Shell | High-impact deep test drilled around the turn of the year. |
Who is here
Operators, partners and the companies building the hardware
Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V. · Suriname
State oil company and resource manager
Founded in 1980 and 100% state owned. Staatsolie is both a producer (onshore fields, the Tout Lui Faut refinery, power generation, a gold royalty from Rosebel) and the body that manages Suriname's petroleum acreage: it markets blocks, negotiates production sharing contracts and can take up to a 20% share in any development.
Company siteTotalEnergies · France
Operator, Block 58 and Block 64
Operator of GranMorgu, Suriname's first offshore development, and a partner or operator across several other blocks.
Company siteAPA Corporation · United States
Partner, Block 58; operator, Block 53
Formerly Apache. Drilled the original Maka Central discovery in 2020 and holds 40% of Block 58.
Company sitePETRONAS · Malaysia
Operator, Block 52
Holds the gas story: Sloanea, Roystonea and Fusaea in Block 52, plus positions in Blocks 53, 63, 64 and shallow-offshore acreage.
Company siteShell · United Kingdom / Netherlands
Operator, Block 65
Entered through the Demerara round and a farm-out from Chevron, targeting deeper plays.
Company siteChevron · United States
Operator, shallow offshore blocks
The main shallow-water explorer, working with Paradise Oil Company and QatarEnergy.
Company siteQatarEnergy · Qatar
Partner across several blocks
A recurring non-operating partner alongside TotalEnergies, Chevron and Shell.
Company siteSBM Offshore · Netherlands
FPSO contractor
Building the GranMorgu FPSO on a Fast4Ward hull, in partnership with Technip Energies. Together with Suriname they run the STS joint venture and its graduate programme.
Company siteTechnip Energies · France
FPSO topsides partner
Partner to SBM Offshore on the GranMorgu FPSO.
Company siteSaipem · Italy
Subsea contractor
Won the roughly US$1.9 billion subsea scope on GranMorgu.
Company siteTechnipFMC · United Kingdom / United States
Subsea equipment
Supplying subsea production systems, including the Christmas trees assembled and tested in Malaysia.
Company siteParadise Oil Company (POC) · Suriname
Staatsolie subsidiary
The vehicle Staatsolie uses to hold working interests in shallow offshore blocks.
Company siteWhat is still on offer
The Open Door Offering
Historically Suriname licensed acreage through timed bid rounds: the Shallow Offshore round of 2020-2021, the Demerara round of 2022-2023, and a second shallow offshore round after that. In November 2025 Staatsolie switched approach and launched an Open Door Offering covering roughly 60% of the offshore area, more than 70,000 km2, from shallow water to ultra-deep.
Under an open door, companies nominate the blocks they want, propose their own work programme and can choose between a full production sharing contract, a joint study or a technical evaluation agreement. Staatsolie took the offering on the road, including a Houston roadshow in May 2026. A separate near-shore seismic survey announced in 2026 covers the waters between the Guyanese and French Guianese borders.
The mechanics of what a bidder actually signs are on the contracts and fiscal terms 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
Page data last reviewed 2026-08-02.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many offshore blocks does Suriname have?
Suriname’s offshore is divided into dozens of numbered blocks stretching from the shallow coastal shelf out past 3,000 metres of water. Only a minority are under contract. In November 2025 Staatsolie put roughly 60% of the offshore area, over 70,000 km2, back on offer through its Open Door Offering.
Which block has the oil?
Block 58, operated by TotalEnergies. The Sapakara South and Krabdagu fields inside it are the basis of the GranMorgu development, holding more than 750 million barrels.
Which block has the gas?
Block 52, operated by PETRONAS. The Sloanea field was declared commercial in late 2025, and cumulative discoveries in the block exceed one billion barrels of oil equivalent.
Is ExxonMobil in Suriname?
ExxonMobil has held interests in Suriname acreage, including a past position in Block 52, but it is not the operator of any of the blocks now heading toward development. The operators driving activity in 2026 are TotalEnergies, PETRONAS, APA Corporation, Chevron and Shell.
How deep is the water?
It varies enormously. The shallow offshore blocks sit in tens of metres. Block 58 and Block 52 are deepwater, roughly 100 to 1,000 metres and beyond, and the acreage on offer runs into ultra-deep water past 3,000 metres.