SURINAME
COMMEWIJNE PORT FACILITY
Suriname lines up new shore base port I
n 2020, amid the worldwide Covid19-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
32 Caribbean Maritime | February - May 2021
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.
Paramaribo
ESTUARY ComPort is located in the wide estuary of the Suriname and Commewijne rivers, close to the Suriname river fairway and the Atlantic coast, with ample surrounding real estate for shore base expansion and for establishing a zone for industry dedicated to offshore supplies and services. Unfortunately, much of Suriname’s Atlantic coastline and its other major rivers are extremely shallow. And the sheer amount of continuous dredging required to make a port of this size and scope work, renders most of these potential locations less than economically viable. Suriname’s existing harbor facilities, can, at most, only be upgraded to service the first phase of offshore oil production, and with a single FPSO. In neighboring
Guyana, within the first year of oil production, two additional FPSOs have already been commissioned, and port facilities are projected to double, if not triple, in capacity, within the first five years of operation, as the total number of offshore production wells steadily increases. ComPort has been specifically designed to allow for much greater vessel draft in the future than is currently feasible with the existing Suriname River fairway depth. In fact, the quay design allows increased vessel draft after additional dredging up to 9.5 meters. ComPort has commissioned a design
