Indonesia’s state-owned oil company explores investments in Guyana, Suriname

Sept.18 (oilnow.gy) Indonesia’s state-owned energy company PT Pertamina is exploring upstream oil and gas investments in Guyana and Suriname to secure more reliable energy sources.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the company has started preliminary discussions on exploration and investment opportunities in the two South American countries. Indonesian state news agency ANTARA News reported the development on September 14.

“Pertamina has already initiated exploratory discussions on cooperation in exploration and investment in the upstream oil and gas sectors of Guyana and Suriname,” the ministry’s Director General for American and European Affairs, Grata Endah Werdaningtyas, said. 

The discussions place Pertamina in two neighboring petroleum-producing countries at different stages of offshore development. Guyana is expanding an established deepwater industry, while Suriname is preparing to bring its first offshore oil project into production.

Werdaningtyas said acquiring interests in overseas oil fields would help Indonesia diversify its supply sources. The strategy is also intended to reduce exposure to geopolitical disruptions affecting existing supply routes. “Investment implies that we hold an ownership stake in the source, thereby making supplies from that region more secure for us,” she said.

“This move positions us as a smarter player in the oil and gas sector,” Werdaningtyas added.

Offshore Guyana, the ExxonMobil-operated Stabroek Block produces close to 900,000 barrels of oil per day. The block currently has four producing developments: Liza 1, Liza 2, Payara, and Yellowtail. The Uaru project is expected to begin production in the fourth quarter of 2026, potentially lifting national output above one million b/d.

No discovery outside the Stabroek Block has yet advanced to commercial development, but Guyana is seeking to broaden upstream investment beyond Stabroek, with new acreage awarded after its first offshore licensing round and the government gathering additional seismic data ahead of another round.

Suriname currently produces oil from onshore fields operated by state-owned Staatsolie. Its offshore industry is centered on the US$10.5 billion GranMorgu development in Block 58, operated by TotalEnergies. The project will produce oil from the Sapakara and Krabdagu fields, at a target rate of 220,000 b/d. First oil is expected in 2028.