Four institutions decide how this goes
Who does what
The division of responsibility
| Body | Role | Status in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Oil, Gas and Environment (OGM) | Policy, legislation, national oil and gas policy plan, oil spill preparedness, environment and spatial planning | Created 2025. Minister Patrick Brunings. 2026 budget includes SRD 3.393 billion for investment in Staatsolie, plus allocations for local content policy and for updating the National Oil Spill Response Plan. |
| Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V. | Resource manager, licensing counterparty, state equity holder, onshore producer and refiner | Founded 1980, wholly state owned. Managing Director Annand Jagesar. Holds 20% of GranMorgu. |
| National Environment Authority (NMA) | Environmental permitting and enforcement under the Environmental Framework Act | Operational, and still building capacity for offshore-scale oversight. |
| Savings and Stabilisation Fund (SSFS) | Receives and invests mineral revenue; smooths price swings; saves for future generations | Legally established. As of early 2026 the IMF reported no board, no operating procedures and no investment framework. |
| Ministry of Finance and Planning | Budget, fiscal framework, debt | Under IMF pressure for fiscal adjustment ahead of the revenue inflow. |
| Ministry of Natural Resources | Mining, water and energy outside the petroleum portfolio | Still exists separately; oil and gas policy moved to OGM in 2025. |
The ministry
Ministerie van Olie, Gas en Milieu
Suriname did not have a dedicated oil ministry until 2025. Petroleum policy sat with Natural Resources, and in practice a great deal of it sat with Staatsolie. The new government created OGM and appointed Patrick Brunings, who had been Exploration and Subsurface Manager in Staatsolie’s offshore directorate and holds a master’s degree in petroleum engineering.
The ministry also absorbed the environment and spatial planning portfolios, which is why its news output runs from offshore licensing to biodiversity monitoring and marine litter in the same month. Its stated 2026 workplan includes a National Oil and Gas Policy Plan, modernisation of petroleum legislation, a local content policy, and updating the National Oil Spill Response Plan.
Address
Swalbergstraat 7, Paramaribo
Minister
Patrick Brunings, nominated by the NPS
Portfolios
Oil, gas, environment, spatial planning
Public information
gov.sr ministry page, including tenders (aanbestedingen), announcements (bekendmakingen) and vacancies
Staatsolie
The company that is also the system
Staatsolie was founded on 13 December 1980 and is entirely state owned. Under the Petroleum Act 1990 it holds the exclusive right to explore for and produce hydrocarbons in Suriname, and it contracts that right out to international companies. It is simultaneously an operating business: onshore fields, the Tout Lui Faut refinery, power generation and a gold royalty stream.
Recent scale: Staatsolie anticipated total revenue of about US$802 million for 2025 with pre-tax profit near US$418 million, and contributions to the treasury of roughly US$387 million through taxes, dividends and royalties. It raised more than US$2 billion in 2025 to fund its GranMorgu share, through a US$516 million bond and a US$1.6 billion syndicated loan from 18 lenders.
The structural criticism is straightforward: the entity that markets the acreage and negotiates the contracts is also a commercial partner in the resulting projects. Splitting policy out into a separate ministry in 2025 was a partial answer. Contract publication and an independent regulator are the reforms most often proposed next.
The oil fund
Where the money is supposed to go
The Spaar- en Stabilisatiefonds Suriname exists to do two jobs: absorb the swings when oil prices move, and save part of a finite resource for people who are not born yet. From 2026 all mineral revenue is supposed to be deposited directly into it and managed independently of the annual budget.
That is the design. The IMF’s 2025 Article IV consultation, concluded in February 2026, reported that the fund had no board, no operating procedures and no investment framework, and that implementation was held back by institutional weakness, poor coordination and a shortage of skilled staff. It framed 2026 and 2027 as a transition window in which the rules have to be finished before the money arrives.
This is the single most consequential unresolved item in the sector. The oil will be produced whether or not the fund works. What the fund decides is who benefits and for how long.
The environmental side
Permits, spills and the coastline
Offshore operations are permitted under the Environmental Framework Act through the National Environment Authority. The ministry’s 2026 budget carries a specific allocation for disaster preparedness and oil incident risk management, including updating the National Oil Spill Response Plan and running risk analyses for offshore activity.
The concern researchers raise is geographic. Currents in the Guyana-Suriname basin are strong and run westward, so a significant spill would not stay put: modelling work has flagged risk to mangroves, small-scale fisheries and the coasts of French Guiana, Guyana and Caribbean states. Suriname’s mangrove belt is also its flood defence, which raises the stakes beyond biodiversity.
On the emissions side, GranMorgu is designed with gas reinjection and an all-electric FPSO to minimise routine flaring, which is genuinely better than the regional norm. It does not change the spill exposure, which is a response-capability question rather than a design question.
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
- IMF Country Report: Suriname 2025 Article IV
Page data last reviewed 2026-08-02.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Suriname have a Ministry of Oil and Gas?
Yes. The Ministry of Oil, Gas and Environment (Ministerie van Olie, Gas en Milieu, OGM) was created in 2025 and is led by Patrick Brunings, a petroleum engineer who spent more than 25 years at Staatsolie. It sits at Swalbergstraat 7 in Paramaribo and also carries the environment and spatial planning portfolios previously held by the ROM ministry.
Who regulates oil in Suriname?
Responsibility is split. The Ministry of Oil, Gas and Environment sets policy and legislation. Staatsolie manages the acreage, negotiates contracts and holds state equity. The National Environment Authority handles environmental permitting. The Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Savings and Stabilisation Fund handle the revenue.
What is the Savings and Stabilisation Fund?
Suriname’s sovereign wealth fund, the Spaar- en Stabilisatiefonds Suriname. From 2026 all mineral revenue is meant to be deposited into it and managed independently, to smooth price swings and save for future generations. The IMF noted in early 2026 that the fund still lacked a board, operating procedures and an investment framework.
Is Staatsolie both regulator and player?
Effectively yes, and it is the structural question people raise. Staatsolie markets the acreage, negotiates the contracts and takes an equity stake in the projects it licensed. The creation of a separate oil and gas ministry in 2025 was partly a move toward splitting policy from commercial operations.
What has the IMF said about Suriname and oil?
In its 2025 Article IV consultation, concluded in February 2026, the IMF described 2026 and 2027 as a transition period in which Suriname must finish regulations and strengthen institutions before production starts, warned about the risk of a resource curse without urgent policy measures, and called for meaningful fiscal adjustment in 2026.