SURINAME-President announces financial payments from energy royalties to the Surinamese population.

PRAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC—President Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi says every Surinamese national will receive a share in royalties of US$750, with an interest of seven percent annually from the energy sector.

“Today, I announce the financial instrument, under the name Royalties for Everyone (RVI), which offers the people of Suriname a share in future oil royalties. The RVI instrument means that every Surinamese in our country receives a savings note worth US$750, with an annual interest of seven percent. The money will be paid out in the future from the royalty income of Block 58.”

Santokhi said the payment would only be made when the oil from Block 58 has been sold, and Suriname has received the royalties.

“The RVI is listed in US dollars, so its value is stable. The payment will be made in Surinamese dollars. Options are being developed for people over 60 and people with disabilities to receive these before 2028.

“We must now translate that positive impact into opportunities for our people. There are opportunities for our entrepreneurs and youth to shape the future of Suriname with the right education and training,” Santokhi said as he spoke of the positive impact of an agreement with TotalEnergies. This global integrated energy company produces and markets oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables, and electricity.

In October, TotalEnergies chairman and chief executive officer Patrick Pouyanné met with President Santokh and Annand Jagesar, the chief executive officer of the state-owned Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V., Suriname’s National Oil Company.

They later announced the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the “GranMorgu” development located on offshore Block 58.

According to a statement posted on TotalEnergies’ website, the GranMorgu project will develop the Sapakara and Krabdagu oil discoveries, on which a successful exploration and appraisal campaign was completed in 2023.

It said the fields are located 150 km off the coast of Suriname and hold recoverable reserves estimated at over 750 million barrels.

The project includes 220,000 barrels of oil per day Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit that replicates a proven and efficient design. Total investment is estimated at around US$10.5 billion, and the first oil is expected in 2028.

The GranMorgu FPSO is designed to accommodate future tie-back opportunities that would extend its production plateau.

TotalEnergies is the operator of Block 58 with a 50 percent interest, alongside APA Corporation (50 percent). Staatsolie has announced its intent to exercise its option to enter the development project with up to a 20 percent interest. Partners agreed that Staatsolie will contribute to the project from FID and finalize its interest before June 2025.

The Suriname Constitution stipulates that “natural resources are the nation’s property and will be used to promote economic, social, and cultural development.”

It also states that “the State strives for a fair distribution of the national income, aimed at a fair distribution of welfare and prosperity among all levels of the population.”

Speaking at a luncheon for the media, Santokhi, who was accompanied by the visiting Prime Minister of Curacao, Gilmar Pisas, who is here as a special guest of the country celebrating its 49th anniversary of independence, said, “After the announcement of the first investment decision for block 58, I have received many requests to implement those requirements of the constitution better.

“And some groups, especially retirees, have informed me that, unlike younger generations, they will not benefit from oil’s positive effects in the country. With these requests in mind, I have commissioned financial experts to propose a financial instrument that offers the people of Suriname a share of our natural resources.

“Today, I can announce the creation of a financial instrument that offers the people of Suriname a share in future oil royalties. In this way, our people become de facto owners of Suriname’s natural assets. Consider this share as a reward for several years of necessary efforts during the macroeconomic and financial stabilization,” Santokhi added.

The government said the “Royalties for Everyone” has three objectives: everyone has a share in developing the oil and gas sector, just as other countries, such as Alaska, have done.

It said citizens are rewarded for the years of necessary efforts during macroeconomic and financial stabilization, and thirdly, the instrument is a powerful incentive to achieve important and cross-party policy goals such as reducing the informal economy by everyone freely identifying themselves with the tax authorities and everyone who does not yet have one getting a bank account.

Santokhi said that several experts have been working for several months, under the coordination of the Ministry of Finance and Planning, to develop this instrument, with the timeline that it will be implemented in the first half of 2025.

“I expressly inform you that the RVI will be paid from future royalties to be received by the State of Suriname. The State will not be burdened with a loan, and the future oil will not be pledged. The only thing that will happen is that part of the future royalty revenues will be allocated to the population,” Santokhi added.