PARAMARIBO, SURINAME: Frédéric Beys, GranMorgu Project Director at TotalEnergies, highlighted the company’s forward-thinking strategy and sustainability-driven innovations during remarks at the 2025 Suriname Energy, Oil & Gas Summit (SEOGS).
“We will spend, altogether, 30 million man hours on this project,” Beys said. “Since we started last year, we have already passed 2 million hours in engineering and starting production.”
From early on, TotalEnergies emphasized proactive design and planning. “We launched very early surveys to have a better knowledge of ocean data… so that we were ready without knowing if there would be a development afterwards,” Beys explained. That approach led to the evaluation of over 80 development cases, adapted to the positioning of each well.
Beys outlined a series of low-cost, high-impact environmental measures. One example involved installing pipes to draw in cold seawater from a depth of 200 meters to cool FPSO operations, instead of using warmer surface water. “Just by placing three pipes at 200 meters depth to draw colder water, we save four megawatts of power and avoid 12 kilotons of CO₂ emissions,” he said. “It’s a simple idea. Doesn’t cost that much.”
Another major design shift was relocating the FPSO from a deep-water area (~1000m) to shallower waters (~400m). This adjustment reduced the need for certain equipment, optimized pressure management, and improved energy efficiency. “By moving from deep to shallow, we gained 20 megawatts of power, 60 kilotons of CO₂, and over $50 million,” Beys said.
TotalEnergies will also reinject all produced water back into the reservoir, eliminating marine discharge. A new methane detection system using IoT and cloud-connected sensors will be deployed across the FPSO topsides to identify leaks early and minimize emissions.
“We’ll install about 300 detectors to identify and fix leaks early. It’s a low-cost solution with high environmental benefit,” Beys said, adding that reducing methane was critical given its climate impact.
A strong emphasis was placed on local content. Although not legally required, TotalEnergies decided to require all contractors to establish in-country operations.
“We believe that both in the short and long term, this brings real value to Suriname,” Beys said. He also credited the project’s progress to the trust and cooperation established with key contractors, including during a critical phase when early cost estimates were used to fast-track procurement while competitive selection was still ongoing.
And perhaps most notably, Beys hinted at a groundbreaking logistics concept: using a kite to help transport the FPSO from China to Suriname. He said, “Maybe – we never know – one day the FPSO will come to Suriname from China with a kite.”
