It had always been felt that once Suriname’s oil and gas industry become ‘up and running’ the likelihood of joint ventures spanning an assortment of petro-related projects might be high notwithstanding the existing river dispute between the two neighbouring countries. Indeed, in the wake of what is now irrefutable evidence that the two countries are on their way to world class petro profiles, enhanced relations at the levels of both the state and the private sector in the two countries has been evident. Contextually, to-ing and froing of business delegations has now become commonplace and earlier this month, a high profile Guyana-Suriname business encounter in Georgetown, attracted participation from business officials beyond the region.
Contextually, the Friday October 18 disclosure that the two countries were moving towards the joint exploration of their respective reserves was not anywhere close to being as jaw-dropping as it otherwise might have been.
Indeed, it is simply a matter of the two countries sending signals at this early stage of their mutual interest in wealth accumulation that benefits the people of both countries.
The two must ‘grow together’ appears to be the signals that are being sent at this early stage. The report on the disclosure of a likely gas exploration deal appears to have gone to some lengths to emphasize that this is not an immediate out-of-the-blocks initiative, but a longer-term initiative that will yield even greater wealth for both countries down the road
“It won’t happen tomorrow, but it is important that we now have confirmation from both sides that we want to work together. It could take years before we have found a development concept,” Staatsolie Director Annand Jagesar reportedly told the Surinamese newspaper, de Ware Tijd. Jagesar appears to have gone to some trouble to make the point that the project “won’t happen overnight” though he added that it was important that even this early it was desirable that both Georgetown and Paramaribo signal that they “want to work together.”
In a remark that may be intended as a ‘there’s no hurry’ Jagesar reportedly alluded to the importance of finding a “development concept as a basis for proceeding” in an interview with de Ware Tijd. Indications that Georgetown and Paramaribo may be prepared to embrace bilateral cooperation in various areas as a vehicle towards the realization of petro wealth appears to have been reflected in the Surinamese delegation that traveled to Georgetown for the recent conference, which included Suriname’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation Albert Ramdin who reportedly met with Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo, a key political figure in the Guyana oil and gas sector during his visit here.
Reportedly, Foreign Minister Ramdin told the media that Guyana and Suriname will seek to jointly examine a development concept to makes exploitation of certain reservoirs of gas condensates feasible.