PETRONAS is moving its Sloanea gas development through Suriname’s environmental approval process, setting out a plan that could open another major offshore production front in Block 52.
The project is being advanced by PETRONAS Suriname Exploration & Production B.V. (PSEPBV), the operator of Block 52. The company is seeking approval from the National Environmental Authority (NMA) to carry out offshore development activities within the Sloanea Green Field Development area.
The environmental and social impact assessment summary says the project covers the drilling of three to six development wells, the installation of a subsea production system, and subsea umbilicals, risers, and flowlines. These would carry gas to a floating liquefied natural gas facility, where it would be processed.
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The development targets an estimated recoverable resource of 2.5 trillion standard cubic feet of gas in the Upper Campanian reservoir. The document says the resource was defined after successful hydrocarbon discoveries at the Sloanea-1, Roystonea-1, and Fusaea-1 exploration wells.
“As operator of Block 52, offshore Suriname, PSEPBV successfully made hydrocarbon discoveries during exploration and appraisal at the Sloanea-1, Roystonea-1 and Fusaea-1 exploration wells, leading to the delineation of Sloanea Greenfield,” the summary states.
The proposed FLNG facility is expected to have a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year. It is being designed for an operating life of at least 25 years. The facility would receive the full hydrocarbon stream from the subsea infrastructure, then handle separation, raw gas pretreatment, gas treatment, liquefaction, and condensate stabilization.
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The project layout remains preliminary. The summary says the concept includes development wells, subsea infrastructure, and the FLNG, but notes that the final design may change as engineering work advances.
PSEPBV said four wells have already been confirmed under the current technical design: Slo-A, Slo-C, Slo-D, and Slo-F. Two other wells, Slo-E and Slo-G, remain within the scope of the assessment.
The pre-operational phase includes environmental baseline work, metocean data collection, and geophysical and geotechnical surveys. The environmental baseline survey was completed in the fourth quarter of 2025. A one-year metocean survey was scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2026.
The document says the draft environmental impact statement was submitted to the NMA on March 30, 2026. A public consultation meeting was scheduled in Suriname on April 30, 2026. The NMA and public review period is expected to run for 30-90 days. The final environmental impact statement is expected to be submitted on October 9, 2026, with approval or rejection due up to 30 days after that filing.
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The assessment also outlines the project’s likely onshore support chain. PSEPBV is expected to use Kuldipsingh Port Facility in Paramaribo as the main shore base. A port in Chaguaramas, Trinidad, is listed as a likely satellite or secondary logistics base. Aviation services are expected to operate from the Eduard Alexander Gummels heliport in Paramaribo.
The environmental baseline describes Block 52 as being about 113 kilometers offshore, with water depths across the block ranging from about 50 meters to 1,600 meters. It says baseline seawater samples showed no evidence of petroleum-related contamination in the water column.
The area also sits within a wider marine environment that supports fish, marine mammals, seabirds, and sea turtles. The document says about 30 marine mammal species occur in Suriname’s waters, while five sea turtle species are present in the country’s marine environment.
The assessment says most residual and cumulative impacts are expected to be of minor significance after proposed prevention and mitigation measures. Some impacts are assessed as moderate, reflecting the nature and scale of offshore work.
The document also identifies potential positive effects tied to project development, especially economic opportunities and capacity strengthening.
