Suriname oil summit tags entrepreneurship, investor friendliness as key priorities
Suriname’s political leaders have used the Tuesday June 1 opening of the country’s 2021 Energy Oil and Gas Conference to underscore the socio-economic returns that they expect to derive from its newfound massive oil and gas potential while emphasising the country’s intention to assume a posture of investor friendliness in the period ahead.
Leading the succession of speakers at the opening of the forum, the country’s president, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, declared that the two most important objectives of the summit are to promote entrepreneurship and attract foreign investment. “That fits precisely in our policy and in our commitment to further develop our natural energy oil and gas industry for the benefit of the people of Suriname,” he is quoted as saying.
President Santokhi’s perspective on just where Suriname expects its oil and gas resources to take the country resembles in its philosophical outlook, that of Guyana which has already begun to attract foreign investors and to trigger some amount of international investment in the country on the back of its succession of at least 20 major oil finds dating back to May 2015.
The Suriname president told the gathering of investment hopefuls that his government is strongly committed to implementing the required policies in order to ensure Suriname reaps the maximum benefits of the oil and gas industry, adding that his administration firmly intends to foster and promote foreign direct investment in the country.
“Our government characterizes itself by its values of stability, good governance and business friendliness,” Santokhi told the forum, adding that “potential investors can expect improvements in our business climate in terms of ease of doing business, in terms of fair and equal treatment, prosperity, openness and additional fiscal and corporate incentives, which would be included in our upcoming Revised Investment Act.”
Albert R Ramdin, Suriname’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation, told the forum that the oil and gas industry will play a key role in the economic development of the country. “We stand on the
verge of elevating our scope and capabilities in Suriname to the next level. The Suriname-Guyana Basin has strategic assets and from a foreign policy and foreign direct investment perspective the financial and investment capital flows towards the region and the geo-political interest being shown by major global and regional players have been important developments.”
Annand Jagesar, Managing Director/CEO of Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V, emphasised that the country is open for business, particularly investments in oil and gas resources both onshore and offshore. He said that major hydrocarbon discoveries in Guyana and Suriname have placed the region in the spotlight and highlighted areas offshore the South American country which he said fall within the ‘golden lane’ of these mega discoveries.
The Staatsolie boss reportedly pointed to the “huge need… for goods, services and manpower,” pointing out that the emergence of an oil and gas sector had created spin-off opportunities for legal and financial services, food and lodging, tourism, and regional hospitals, among others.
Last year was a highly successful year for Guyana’s neighbour to the east in terms of oil exploration, particularly at Block 58 where the oil companies Apache and Total made four separate discoveries. Additionally, Exxon Mobil and Petronas also made their first discoveries.