The one thing to understand
The waterfall
How one barrel gets divided
Royalty comes off the top
6.25% of gross production goes to the state before any costs are recovered. This is the portion Suriname earns even on a marginal project.
The company recovers its costs
Between 75 and 80% of what is left is available as cost oil, used to pay back exploration, development and production spending. In the early years this is where most of the barrel goes.
The rest is profit oil, and it is shared
Whatever remains after royalty and cost oil is split between the contractor and Staatsolie on a negotiated scale.
The company pays income tax
36%, fixed for the term of the contract so the fiscal terms cannot be changed under the contractor mid-project.
Staatsolie can take equity
Up to 20% of a development, paid for by carrying 20% of costs from that point forward. It did exactly this on GranMorgu, at a cost of about US$2.4 billion.
Fiscal terms
The headline numbers
| Term | Suriname | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.25% of gross production | Paid regardless of profitability. |
| Cost oil ceiling | 75 to 80% after royalty | The share available to repay costs each period. |
| Profit oil | Negotiated split of the remainder | Between contractor and Staatsolie. |
| Income tax | 36%, fixed for the contract term | Stability is part of what attracts bidders. |
| State participation | Staatsolie up to 20% | A back-in right exercised after a discovery is proven. |
| Overall government take | About 60 to 70% after costs | Varies with the oil price. |
| Contract type | Production sharing contract | The state retains ownership of the resource. |
| Typical term | Up to 30 years | The shallow offshore blocks 6 and 8 were signed on 30-year PSCs. |
Licensing history
How the acreage was handed out
| Round | When | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Shallow Offshore Bid Round | 2020 to 2021 | Blocks 5, 6, 7 and 8 awarded. Chevron took 5 and 7; TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy took 6 and 8. Staatsolie holds interests through Paradise Oil Company. |
| Demerara Bid Round | November 2022 to May 2023 | Blocks 63, 64 and 65. PETRONAS on 63; TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy and PETRONAS on 64; Shell’s BG International with QatarEnergy on 65. |
| Shallow Offshore Round 2 | Following the Demerara round | Eleven further shallow-water blocks offered; blocks 9 and 10 went to PETRONAS and Chevron. |
| Open Door Offering | From November 2025 | Roughly 60% of offshore acreage, over 70,000 km2, open to nomination at any time. Promoted internationally including a Houston roadshow in May 2026. |
How to actually bid
The process, in order
Look at the data
Staatsolie licenses seismic and well data for the basin. About half of it now has modern 3D coverage, and a near-shore survey covering the waters between the Guyanese and French Guianese borders was announced in 2026.
Nominate the acreage
Under the Open Door Offering a company proposes the blocks it wants rather than waiting for a round to open.
Choose the instrument
A full production sharing contract, a joint study agreement, or a technical evaluation agreement if the company wants to look before committing.
Propose a work programme
Commitments are typically expressed as seismic and a minimum number of wells within a defined exploration period.
Negotiate and sign with Staatsolie
Staatsolie negotiates on behalf of the state, with the profit oil split as the main commercial variable. Royalty and income tax are fixed.
The legal stack
Which law does what
Petroleum Act 1990
The backbone. It gives Staatsolie the exclusive right to explore for and produce hydrocarbons in Suriname, and to contract that right out to others. It also carries the tax provisions applied to petroleum operations.
Production Sharing Contracts
The operational rulebook for each block, including cost recovery, profit oil, work commitments, decommissioning and the preference given to local suppliers and workers.
Environmental Framework Act (Milieu Raamwet)
Establishes the National Environment Authority (NMA) and the permitting regime that offshore operations sit under.
Savings and Stabilisation Fund law
Directs mineral revenue into a sovereign fund. From 2026 all mineral revenue is meant to be deposited there and managed independently.
Local content: policy, not yet law
Preference for local suppliers and workers is written into the petroleum law and the PSCs, but Suriname has no dedicated local content act. A national local content programme began in 2026 and legislation has been promised. See jobs and local content.
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
- Staatsolie: bidding and fiscal terms
Page data last reviewed 2026-08-02.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Suriname sell its oil to foreign companies?
No. It licenses the right to produce it under a production sharing contract. The state keeps ownership of the resource, the company funds and carries the risk, and production is split between them after costs.
What royalty does Suriname charge?
6.25% of gross production, taken before anything else. On top of that sits cost recovery, a profit oil split and a 36% income tax fixed for the life of the contract.
What is Suriname’s government take?
Staatsolie puts it at 60 to 70% of project value after costs, depending on the oil price. That counts royalty, profit oil and income tax, and does not include the value of Staatsolie’s own equity stake.
How does Suriname’s deal compare to Guyana’s?
Suriname’s terms are generally regarded as tougher for the contractor than Guyana’s 2016 Stabroek agreement, mainly because Guyana’s carried a 2% royalty and no separate corporate income tax on the contractors. Suriname charges 6.25% royalty plus 36% income tax and takes an equity stake through Staatsolie.
How does a company get a block in Suriname?
Since November 2025, through the Open Door Offering: a company nominates the acreage it wants at any time, proposes a work programme and negotiates with Staatsolie. Before that, acreage was awarded in timed bid rounds.
Are Suriname’s petroleum contracts public?
Model contract terms and headline fiscal parameters are published by Staatsolie, but individual signed contracts are not routinely published in full. Contract transparency is one of the governance points raised by observers as the sector scales up.