Suriname Commewijne Port Facility

Suriname lines up new shore base port

In 2020, amid the worldwide Covid-19-induced economic downturn, Suriname reached second place, only behind Russia, in terms of discovered oil and gas reserves. And all this from just one offshore find in Block 58, and without counting a first promising recent discovery in Block 52.

Major stakeholders, including the Government of Suriname, have committed themselves to the commencement of commercial offshore oil production within the next five years. As such, dedicated port facilities are required to address the needs of the offshore oil and gas exploration and production industries, as they steadily ramp up their operations. Furthermore, and to secure maximized local industry involvement in the sector – involvement that could basically equal national income from direct oil revenues – dedicated port facilities will be required, of which to date, Suriname has none.

In broad terms, and through such a shore base port facility, it’s estimated that more than US$ 12 billion in local revenue can be generated over the next 25 years from activities in offshore Block 58 alone.

Within five years, the Suriname offshore oil and gas sector is projected to create at least 2,000 local jobs, of which a minimum of 250 will be directly employed at a shore base port facility, with countless more in supporting industries and businesses. At the same time, a local shore base significantly benefits operations at sea by cutting up to four days off the duration of a round trip when compared to the use of Trinidad as a location for operations.

So, this is the reason Commewijne Port Facility (ComPort) NV is being set up in Suriname to specifically address the needs of the offshore oil and gas sector, to progressively expand with the industry as is needed, and to maximize the creation of local content and participation in the emerging Surinamese offshore energy sector. ComPort has been established by a group of local entrepreneurs, with close to 60 years cumulative leadership experience in engineering, construction, marine operations, building materials and finance.

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