TotalEnergies Acquires Stake in Suriname Offshore to Expand Gran Morgu Project
French oil and gas company TotalEnergies has announced the acquisition of a 25% stake in Block 53 on the Surinamese offshore shelf from Spanish company Moeve, Reuters reports. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
This transaction strengthens the presence of the French energy giant in one of the world’s key exploration regions, where the company is already a leading player among major oil corporations. Block 53 borders the Gran Morgu project, with investments estimated at $10.5 billion. This project received final investment approval in October, and its recoverable resources are estimated at over 700 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Although oil and gas production has not yet begun in this South American country, Suriname hopes to replicate the success of neighboring Guyana, where a consortium led by ExxonMobil has discovered fields with more than 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas.
The launch of Gran Morgu, with a production capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, is planned for the first half of 2028. According to TotalEnergies, Block 53 includes the Baja-1 field discovered in 2022 by partner APA. It is located on the border with Gran Morgu, which potentially allows the use of the existing infrastructure and could extend the peak production phase of the main project.
TotalEnergies has already invested over $1.4 billion in exploration in Suriname. The floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) for Gran Morgu will be one of the largest in the company’s portfolio.
Spanish company Moeve (formerly CEPSA), the second-largest domestic oil producer, is implementing an €8 billion ($9.4 billion) transition strategy toward a low-carbon business model. Since 2022, the company has sold 70% of its oil production assets.
The operator of Block 53 remains Houston-based APA with a 45% stake. The remaining 30% is held by Malaysia’s Petronas.
