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Welcome to Suriname. This is South America’s smallest and greenest country. And it hopes to become one of its richest too. Because lying offshore, 150km in that direction, is one of Big Oil’s newest frontiers. As energy markets around the world reel from wars with Russia and Iran, new developments like the one in Suriname have become even more important.
The investment was $10.5bn.
This is a very unique opportunity for Suriname to change, really change. But we have to be smart.
The United States military began major combat operations in Iran.
Strategically, Latin America only goes up in importance in any company’s portfolio.
Oil comes with booms and busts. Very few people have thought about the contractions.
If you have so much like we do, you think, well, nothing can destroy it.
I think it’ll be a boon for the country. To say: keep the oil in the ground and just keep logging and gold mining. Come on.
Oil prices are going through the roof.
The war in Iran disrupted global oil supplies like never before and underlined how the world still thirsts for fossil fuels. International oil companies were already pouring billions of dollars back into deep water exploration. And now those investments are likely to accelerate. In this film, I want to explore one of oil’s newest frontiers, Suriname, to ask whether the companies, the country, and its people really should be tying their future to oil. And to look at the paradox of why Suriname thinks the black stuff can protect its green forests.
This is Paramaribo, Suriname’s capital city. People here are hoping a new $10.5bn offshore oil project will mark a new beginning for the country after years of recession and an IMF bailout. That’s why they’ve called the project GranMorgu, meaning new dawn.
In my reporting around the world I’ve seen how oil can offer transformational wealth, but that there can also be a huge price to pay: economical, political, and environmental. From Nigeria to Venezuela, oil has often promised prosperity, but instead delivered instability, inequality, and worse. Can Suriname really avoid the same fate? First up, I’m going to meet the man tasked with bringing the oil out of the ground.
So here today we are in what will be the integrated logistics base for GranMorgu. It means that it will be the centre or the main centre of the operation.
Total’s Artur Nunes da Silva is in charge here, at least until the rig starts producing oil in 2028.
One of our values is the pioneering spirit. And I think here is one of these places where we like to be because we are developing something new. But we can also feel that for Surinamese there is lots of enthusiasm, lots of willingness, and goodwill in participating and making that project come true.
Now is a crucial time for the company and for the country, when all the planning needs to be put in place. These are some of the tubulars or steel pipes that will be used underwater in the drilling and production. And workers have already expanded the pier to allow for more ships to dock. In the mid-2010s, investment in offshore was falling around the world. It followed the boom in US shale, the momentum behind the energy transition, and the long shadow cast by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
And now we’re going to go and drill, baby, drill…
But the oil industry is investing in new offshore exploration once again. Under US President Donald Trump the urgency for tackling climate change has slowed. And new technology is making it easier and more profitable to find and exploit oil that’s deeper and further from shore. The war with Iran has added another dimension.
Strategically, I think Latin America only goes up in importance in any company’s portfolio. Either the Middle Eastern operators have to give a higher return, because now you’re taking a bigger risk right after what has happened, or you open up new frontiers. And that’s where Latin America really comes in. And I should add Russian sanctions. Russia was another frontier for absolutely massive amounts of oil and gas investment. That does not look like it’s coming back anytime soon, which is another reason why Americas and Africa become the new frontier.
Paramaribo is a sprawling city without skyscrapers, unless you count this one, the TotalEnergies HQ.
This is a 3D representation of the GranMorgu project. You have the FPSO. So this floating production offloading and storage unit.
Artur shows me a model of the rig. SBM Offshore is preparing the giant vessel in China.
It’s a project that really fits, in fact, our strategy, TotalEnergies’ strategy, bringing more energy with less emissions. In fact, it’s a quite huge development. We are talking about developing 750mn barrels, 32 wells that will be drilled in two fields, 200km of lines. All of that will go to the FPSO that will be producing 220,000 barrels per day and with a storage capacity of 2mn barrels. Out of $10.5bn that we are talking about, we will be spending $1bn to $1.5bn in country. And we’ll be creating around 6,000 jobs.
The FPSO will be fully electric. There will be no routine gas flaring. And methane levels will be constantly monitored. Total says its aim is to produce cheap, low-emission barrels of oil. And Suriname believes that will make the oil commercially viable for years to come. It wants to use its new oil wealth to develop the economy more broadly.
I’m quite optimistic, honestly, because I see rational, pragmatic, and reasonable people. So I think they are having a very positive approach.
I want to hear more about the country’s vision, so I’m going to meet Suriname’s oil minister.
This is a very unique opportunity for Suriname to change, really change, and change in a very sustainable way. But we have to be smart. And we have to sit together. OK. Where do we want to be, let’s say, in 2050? We call it the Suriname 3.0.
Being smart means Suriname will be able to pay down its debts, invest in education and healthcare, and digitise its services. But it must diversify its economy now, developing industries like ecotourism, so it doesn’t become too dependent on just one sector, and also guard against overheating the economy. A spike in inflation could wipe out any economic gains for the general public.
So diversification is extremely important for us, as early as possible, not wait along the line, because you become complacent and you’ll pay less attention. We have to do it now.
A three-day workshop was set to bring together government, civil society, and other stakeholders to develop a roadmap.
People have to be aware that we’re going to start with this transition period, where there’s going to be a lot of hard work. People might think, yes, the oil is coming, gas. We can lay back. It’s going to be the opposite if you want to do it right.
This may be Suriname’s first offshore development, but it’s unlikely to be the last, with Petronas, Chevron, Shell, and PetroChina among those still exploring the nearby waters. But when you talk about new frontiers in this part of the world, many people think of Exxon’s huge find off the coast of Guyana, Suriname’s neighbour. Guyana reminded the industry of the profits to be made from low-cost offshore drilling, turning it into the fastest growing economy in the world.
After the war with Iran started, oil prices jumped, giving Guyana an even bigger windfall. Suriname says it’s determined to not just focus on the economy. Patrick Bruning’s full title is minister of oil, gas, and environment. That would usually be seen as a conflict of interest, but the government insists that it underlines the national ambition – using the oil boom to protect the rainforest.
And we have the luxury that we can generate revenues first to get out of our economic crisis that we’re in now, second, to prepare for climate change, and third, to protect the rainforest. And if we do protect the rainforest, we can then help protect the world, basically. So we have a humongous responsibility on our shoulders.
I want to discover more about this paradox. Can it really be rational to develop fossil fuels in order to protect the environment? I’m heading to the heart of the rainforest to find out. I’m conscious that the helicopter isn’t the most environmentally friendly way to go. But after Paramaribo gives way to an endless canopy of trees, I have an incredible view of just how vast the forest is. We’re flying to the Voltzberg, a granite outcrop surrounded in all directions by jungle. I’m here to meet primatologist Russ Mittermeier, who began studying monkeys and wildlife here more than 50 years ago. He says in all that time the forest has barely changed.
When I first came here, there were 500,000 people in the country. And it was more than 90 per cent forest covered. And now there are 650,000 people in the country, and it’s still 90 per cent-plus forest covered. It’s the greenest country on Earth. The only other countries that come close are Gabon and Guyana. And they’re in the 80s, the low to middle 80s. And if we have primary forests anywhere 50 years from now or by the end of the century, it’s going to be here.
Suriname’s forests are estimated to store more than 900mn metric tonnes of carbon, equivalent to several billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. And each year they absorb more than the country emits. They’re also home to thousands of species of wildlife; jaguars, pumas, tapirs, sloths, as well as the eight primate species that Russ has been studying.
It’s essential that the global community recognise the importance of these forests and help to maintain them because it’s not just good for Suriname, it’s good for everybody. And now Suriname, with the oil wealth coming online in two or three years, they don’t have to cut down the forest. They’re going to be oil rich. And if they play their cards right, they could have the highest per capita income of any country in the world.
I’m surprised Russ is so positive about the oil, but he describes himself as a realist. One current reality is that a country can earn carbon credits for restoring its forests, but not for not having destroyed its forests in the first place. Russ believes it’s now up to the oil companies to pay for protection, a kind of compensation for the emissions they will create. What do you say to people who suggest that Suriname should leave its oil in the ground?
Well, I wonder if they walk to work or if they have to go overseas, if they paddle. I mean, we’re all using oil. Let’s be realistic about it. And to say: keep the oil in the ground and just keep logging and gold mining. Come on. I mean, I’d much rather see best practice oil extraction than some of the other practices. You look at agro industry in the Brazilian Amazon, which has destroyed huge areas for cattle and soy. We don’t want that here. And I think the oil will enable them to not have to go in that direction.
Farhana Sultana is an expert in international development, climate change, and environmental justice. She says rich countries have failed to provide alternative ways for small countries like Suriname to grow their economies.
We should be able to say, hey, we have renewables, we have global climate finance, we have investments away from fossil fuels. Those are the transitions collectively in the production and the consumption side that have to come together. But we have a distorted global economic system that rewards fossil fuel extraction, that rewards fossil fuel dependency. And as a result, it is harder for smaller countries that are worried about their own energy security, their own economic security, their own social development to forego an oil discovery.
You don’t have to look too far to see how an oil boom can turn to disaster.
… in Venezuela, where mounting oil riches are bringing modern benefits to its capital, Caracas.
Oil transformed Venezuela into one of the richest countries in the world. But a toxic combination of political instability, corruption, and oil dependency led to an economic collapse that has devastated its people.
Our next stop is the Maroon village of Botopasi. The Maroons are descendants of African slaves who escaped the plantations in the 17th and 18th centuries and set up their own autonomous communities deep in the forest. I’m here to meet land rights environmentalist Hugo Jabini.
The forest is part of our life. Without forest we don’t exist.
Jabini is from the Saramacca people, one of six tribes in Suriname. He won the prestigious Goldman Prize in 2009 after battling against logging on traditional lands, so he knows all about issues of resources and rights.
The government told the Saramacca they would be imprisoned if they tried to stop the logging.
The people of the Middle East, they are producing their oil. Trump just annexed Venezuela because of the oil. So if you are not doing oil, others will do that. We need the money to develop our country, to invest, to give our people food, and good education, and good healthcare, good water system.
One of the issues here is that the government does not recognise the collective land rights of the Maroon people. In theory, they have little control over mining or logging in their area, but Jabini believes oil money can bridge the development gap from the coast, where most people live, to the interior. And give young people here opportunities in industries like ecotourism.
… this type of investment that can help us to feel like we are human, we are equal, we have equal rights like the people in Paramaribo.
It will take time for the oil boom to make any impact in the interior. But back in Paramaribo, new investments are already taking shape. Antoon Karg, a lawyer, takes me on a tour. He points out the Mall of Suriname built in anticipation of new spending power…
You have the Hard Rock Cafe. You have Chuck E. Cheese.
… and this new apartment complex built in anticipation of new workers.
And this is a residence meant for expats related to the expected oil and gas boom. Here on the left side.
We’re soon stuck in traffic. The road infrastructure here certainly needs some work. And Karg has other worries too, that the country is overleveraging investment based on future hopes, and also over weak governance, weak regulation, and the potential for corruption. He thinks the country is focusing on the boom and ignoring the chance of a bust.
The worry about oil and gas being the main and only driver of the economy and the controlling force, it keeps me up at night. Oil comes with booms and busts. And I think we have been dreaming about a certain boom. But I think very few people have thought about the contractions. Very few people have thought about the pullbacks and what happens when there are massive layoffs, when the oil prices go down, when we simply move away from fossil fuels.
It’s not surprising if there are concerns. You just have to look at Suriname’s recent track record. Suriname gained independence from the Netherlands in 1975, but a military coup led by Dési Bouterse in 1980 ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. This was followed by a civil war in the interior and a gradual return to democratic elections. But politics has remained fragmented with persistent concerns over corruption. Bouterse returned to power in 2010, despite his role in the infamous 1982 December murders of 15 political opponents over which he was later convicted.
New President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons carries fresh hope for the country. She’s their first female leader, heralded around the world for her efforts to protect the rainforest. And she’s taken charge as Suriname finally regains some stability after years of economic turmoil. In the mid-2010s the country was hit by a triple shock; falling oil prices, falling gold prices, and the collapse of its historic bauxite industry. It triggered high inflation, a recession and rising debt. And Suriname was forced into a $572mn IMF bailout to help stabilise the currency and its public finances. Economic growth is now recovering on the back of the expected oil boom.
This is the time to really get the institutional scaffolding right, to build those capacities, whether it’s the taxation bureau, whether it’s anti-corruption agency, and also to operationalise the sovereign wealth fund. But then also internally to diversify the economy because once oil revenue comes in, it becomes harder to diversify because people see more profit at scale in the oil industry.
Countries like Suriname, once you’ve found the oil there is no other option. You have to develop it, right, for your own people, for the prosperity of the country. Where I always worry as an economist is I’ve only seen one success story, really, when it comes to non-Opec supply. In terms of correlating it directly to the prosperity of people in non-Opec, it’s really Norway. That’s always going to be one of the biggest challenges for any country. When they find any reserve, it doesn’t have to be oil. It could be minerals and mines as well. It is making sure that you set up the structures that actually benefit your people.
Suriname has one big advantage. It already has an existing state oil industry, at least onshore.
Staatsolie began producing oil in the early 1980s with production based here at the Saramacca oilfields. The plant supervisor shows me around. There’s still one nodding donkey here, but that’s partly for show. Most modern wells look like this one. And Saramacca has 2,000 of them.
We have a water layer. And on top, we have the oil layer that we treat to be able to send to the refinery.
Oil is already a huge contributor to Suriname’s economy. Last year, Staatsolie produced 17,400 barrels per day, contributing about a third of total government revenue and making up about 9 per cent of the country’s GDP. The company also employs some 1,150 people. You’re holding in your hand this heavy oil. Tell me why it’s so important, what it means to you. How does it make you feel?
Yes, this is one of the lifelines of Suriname. It makes me feel very proud to be part of this process, working at Staatsolie.
Annand Jagesar says the oil money will spark unprecedented economic growth.
So the GDP of Suriname is, like, $4.7bn. And in the peak years the income from this GranMorgu project will be between $2bn and $3bn. So it’s a huge project, given the scale of the country. Staatsolie is investing $2.4bn in the GranMorgu project, including $1.6bn in loans from 18 banks and financial institutions. This will secure the company a 20 per cent stake. Jagesar believes the GranMorgu project is only the first of many. Taking future discoveries into account
he says a best-case scenario could see the country producing between 1.5mn to 2mn barrels a day. As tax collector for GranMorgu, Suriname will receive a 6.25 per cent royalty in gross oil production and 36 per cent in corporate income tax from the oil companies. And as an investor, it will then take its own share of the profits. All profits are ringfenced too, so Total can’t discount them against the cost of future developments. Jagesar says the national oil company is comfortable with the risk.
Guyana has proved that oil is there in the reservoir. And Staatsolie’s investments in gold are a natural hedge against oil price volatility. The strategy is clear. Suriname believes it can be a kind of last man standing and will continue selling its cheaper, cleaner oil, even as the world transitions to renewable energy.
The most conservative scenario could be that in 50 years, oil will be out. And maybe the most realistic would be in 100 to 150 years. So in all scenarios, we have to be strong enough to survive. So in that 50-year scenario, we should be the last one falling off the bandwagon.
But where does Jagesar see the economy in terms of diversification?
You have to be aware that the margins in oil and gas are big. You cannot replace them with the same amount of activity in agriculture, tourism. You have to make that oil and gas sustainable as long as possible, so then you have some more time to develop the other sectors.
I’ve been looking at the sign behind Jagesar’s head – confidence in our own abilities.
But now I’m going to meet someone who has less confidence in the oil industry and a different attitude to risk.
And I think it’s a general perception about risks that we lack because if you have so much like we do, then you think, well, nothing can destroy it.
Monique Pool runs a charity protecting Suriname’s wildlife, including the unique population of dolphins that lives here. Like the forest, the country’s coastal ecosystem has also been left relatively untouched until now.
To me, it’s like a sanctuary when you go out into a sacred place, where these dolphins have been living for many years. They’re right there. It’s the Guiana dolphin. It’s only behaving the way it does in Suriname, nowhere else. And why is that? Because they’re so undisturbed. And that’s probably going to end. Whoa. Did you see that? In Suriname, they come and display. They come and look at you. They do spyhopping.
Pool points out the dredge boat here to deepen the channel to allow the tankers in.
The river isn’t deep enough, so they will have to dredge. And we know that on that side – there was a dolphin right behind me. The actual activities in the estuary are going to affect the species. That is from the increased boat traffic, the pollution, the increased pollution, the dredging that will displace their prey, etc, etc. So those are physical activities that directly impact them. On top of that, with the oil project, we are increasing oil production, which means basically increasing emissions and exacerbating the climate crisis.
The climate crisis is bad news for the planet, but it also has a direct impact on Suriname’s coastline, where rising sea levels threaten habitats and also people. Professor Naipal has witnessed this firsthand. He’s an expert in the mangroves that stretch along the coast, an incredible ecosystem that’s home to numerous birds and wildlife that also protects the low-lying coastal areas.
Dredging means that the sediments which are supposed to come naturally here are being interrupted. No sediment means nothing for the mangroves to hold. Finally, the mangrove has no room to retreat further. And it will die off. And then there’s nothing else to remain over than to build a dyke.
The professor built this sediment trapping unit back in 2015 to try to rehabilitate the mangroves, but they died back again.
Meantime, the sea level is rising every year with 4mm, 5mm. This is a kind of a circle which you have to go constantly in.
The professor takes me to another stretch of coastline. Here, you can see where the mangroves have collapsed, with rising sea waters, strong winds, and a lack of sediment. In Suriname, 60 per cent to 80 per cent of people live in these coastal zones. So if the sea breaches these natural defences it’s a huge problem. Professor Naipal fears money from oil will need to be redirected into expensive coastal protection, using a resource that hurts the environment to protect the environment.
If you see this happening, you know exactly that there’s less and less time left for you to take action because whatever you do takes time. If you try to rehabilitate again, it takes time. But if you still do nothing, then I think the window will close. And that is not what we need. It’s not what the nature needs itself because everything is destroyed.
Total says an environmental impact assessment has been carried out for the GranMorgu project. Potential impacts are being monitored. Mitigation measures are in place. And it supports projects related to biodiversity, like mangrove rehabilitation. But I wonder if Suriname is losing its moral authority as the world’s greenest country, not least because even though the government and oil companies emphasise low-emission production, most emissions don’t come from producing oil. They come from burning it.
Who will give the example that another way is possible? If you are going in the same direction as everybody is going, business as usual, then prepare for the worst.
I want to hear from the business world too to see how they’re going to participate in the oil boom. Kersten Group of Companies has already set up a safety training academy for offshore workers, a waste management service, and a shore base. And they believe their revenues will multiply.
We have determined a strategy that serves not only the new activities directly servicing the new sector, but also getting the current companies ready to be servicing the existing sectors. If you compare it to what the revenues are now within the country and you see or hear what the potentials are from the government to earn money, you can easily 10 to 20-fold it with regards to potential.
Assuria is a dynamic financial institution.
Assuria is Suriname’s largest insurance company. They already expanded into Guyana, spurred on by the oil explorations there. Now they see opportunities here too.
I sense an eagerness, especially in the private sector, for people to benefit as much as possible from the opportunities. I would even call it a fear of missing out. I see it in the banking industry, where people are trying to raise capital, in commercial real estate space, where a lot is being built. You see it in the hotel industry, where hotel projects are being initiated.
But remember the roadmap that the oil minister talked about?
Roadmap, roadmap, roadmap.
Everyone we’ve spoken to has talked about how important that planning will be.
A couple of years will pass very soon. And I think we are, honest opinion, already too late. So it will be damage control from now on if we don’t step up our game together. We should buckle down and make that roadmap for the country.
Is it a risk for Suriname to tie itself to oil for decades to come? I think it’s a very good question.
The thing that’s the most harmful for this Earth, but at the same time, it gives people the energy security that they desire. So we are in this Catch-22.
I would say, at least on our forecast, we will need oil for decades to come. Consumers, we’re just so dependent on oil. Now with the crisis that’s going on, first Russia, now Middle East, you need alternative sources of that oil, right? I would like to see a country where the population is still as welcoming, as entrepreneurial, as positive as they are today.
An economy not based on oil and gas, very diversified, sustainable – tourism, agriculture – and be a model for the world.
The majority of the population living a wealthier life, that’s what I hope. But I don’t know what’s going to happen.
Suriname really believes it can succeed where most other countries have failed, turning oil into a blessing and not a curse. But will it succeed? What I’ve learned making this film is that history may have one answer, but the country has another. The hopes of the people now need grounding with strong planning, regulation and governance, or the sun will set far too soon on Suriname’s new dawn.
