Suriname is preparing to host what industry analysts describe as the region’s first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, after the Sloanea gas field in offshore Block 52 was declared commercial.
Malaysian state oil company Petronas and Suriname’s national oil company Staatsolie jointly confirmed commerciality for Sloanea, clearing the way for a full development plan to be submitted.
The project lies about 120 kilometers off Suriname’s coast in the Guyana–Suriname Basin, in waters roughly 450 meters deep. The Sloanea discovery was first made in 2020 and later appraised by the Sloanea-2 well in 2024, which confirmed the reservoir’s lateral extent and recoverable gas volumes.
Petronas weighs scale of Suriname gas find as Block 52 studies advance | OilNOW
Under the current partnership, Petronas holds an 80% operating stake in Block 52, while Staatsolie’s subsidiary Paradise Oil Company holds the remaining 20%. A gas addendum to the original production sharing contract locks in a gas-focused monetization strategy.
The development concept foresees production wells tied back to subsea infrastructure and a floating LNG vessel moored offshore. Staatsolie says the scheme will include “gas wells, subsea infrastructure and a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility.” At the same time, Energy Capital & Power reports that the plan envisions “a floating LNG facility – a regional first – for downstream export.”
China-based Wison New Energies has already secured a detailed feasibility study contract for the newbuild FLNG unit that will serve Block 52. The facility is designed to receive gas from the subsea production system, process it into LNG and condensate, and supply both Suriname’s domestic market and international buyers.
Petronas is now expected to file its full field development plan with Staatsolie, with a final investment decision targeted for the second half of 2026 and first gas production around 2030.
The FLNG project would make Sloanea Suriname’s first offshore gas development and add a gas pillar alongside the country’s flagship GranMorgu oil project in Block 58, led by TotalEnergies and APA, which is due onstream in 2028.
Analysts at Wood Mackenzie previously suggested that gas developments in Guyana and Suriname could position the two neighbors as cost-competitive LNG suppliers to Caribbean and South American markets. The Sloanea FLNG scheme strengthens Suriname’s bid to become a new deepwater gas producer and a future LNG hub for the wider region.
