OIL AND GAS • ENERGY • INTERVIEWS

Suriname

Suriname has emerged in recent years as one of the most promising new oil and gas provinces globally. South America’s smallest country by both size and population has recorded a string of discoveries offshore.

Suriname’s current oil output is dominated by state-owned Staatsolie‘s onshore developments. As of end-2024, the company was producing around 13,000 bopd. The country’s energy landscape, however, is poised for a step-change following a series of commercial offshore discoveries made from late 2019 onwards.

Following the “Malaysian model,” Staatsolie functions as both the national energy company and the regulator, combining responsibilities that in many countries sit with an energy ministry. As regulator, its stated objective is to keep as much acreage as possible under contract with international partners. As an operator, Staatsolie is active across exploration and production, refining, marketing, transportation and product sales, and it remains a major contributor to Suriname’s power supply.

Suriname’s flagship hydrocarbons play is Block 58, developed by TotalEnergies and APA under a 2019 joint-venture agreement, with each holding 50% and TotalEnergies serving as operator. The partners took final investment decision in October 2024 for the GranMorgu development, anchored by the Sapakara and Krabdagu discoveries, with recoverable resources estimated at around 700 million barrels. Production is expected to start in 2028, with plateau output targeted at roughly 200,000 bopd, a game-changing volume more than 10 times Suriname’s current production.

The government’s strategy for monetising these resources centres on developing offshore projects with a comparatively low carbon footprint and using future revenues to strengthen public finances, address debt pressures and support longer-term energy transition priorities.

Argentina

Argentina’s energy industry remains a key sector for the country’s economic stability. The nation hosts one of the world’s most significant unconventional-hydrocarbon provinces, the Vaca Muerta shale formation — which holds the world’s second-largest technically recoverable shale-gas resource and the fourth-largest shale-oil resource.

Natural gas and oil dominate Argentina’s primary-energy mix, with gas accounting for around 53% and oil around 31%. Research forecasts suggest further expansion of hydrocarbon output via Vaca Muerta.

The hydrocarbons sector is overseen by federal ministries and regulatory bodies, including the recently created Ente Nacional Regulador del Gas y la Electricidad (ENRGE), which integrates oversight of gas and electricity markets.

The market is driven by the majority-state-owned integrated energy player YPF, which remains Argentina’s largest oil and gas producer and controls more than half of the country’s refining capacity. Among international upstream players, companies including Chevron, Eni and Equinor have substantial participation in unconventional operations.

While Argentina was historically an exporter of oil and gas, recent production growth has raised ambitions for LNG exports, and the country is increasingly viewed as a regional supplier rather than simply an importer. The government is seeking investment to scale its gas-production capacity as demand rises, and faces headwinds including high production costs and labour-union conflicts. To encourage foreign direct investment, Argentina has rolled out the “Promotional Regime for Large Investment” (RIGI) and other fiscal and regulatory incentives alongside legacy initiatives such as the Plan Gas programme.

Although oil and gas dominate the energy mix, non-hydrocarbon sources remain relatively modest: renewables (including bioenergy, nuclear and hydropower) accounted for around 14% of the energy matrix in recent years. The country’s energy-transition strategy now emphasises scaling gas production (as a lower-emissions fossil fuel), adding renewables, and developing LNG export infrastructure.