A landmark collaborative initiative between Suriname’s non-profit environmental foundation SOBA (Foundation for the Promotion of Research, Education and Awareness on Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Aquaculture) and TotalEnergies EP Suriname is building a domestic cohort of specialized environmental professionals to support responsible offshore operations in Suriname’s Blok 58, with the long-term goal of developing 45 to 50 fully qualified local environmental experts over the coming years.
In 2025, 15 recent graduates from Suriname’s biology programs and the National Institute for Advanced Studies and Technical Sciences (NATIN) completed a rigorous, multi-module training track tailored for offshore field deployment. The curriculum included mandatory industry-standard certifications such as Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (BOSIET) – which covers helicopter crash response and at-sea emergency protocols – full pre-deployment medical clearances, and specialized technical training focused on marine mammal conservation, sea turtle protection, and monitoring protocols for other vulnerable coastal and offshore species. Additional coursework trained participants in protected species observation methodologies and passive acoustic monitoring systems designed to detect and mitigate disruption to marine wildlife from industrial activities.
Partnering with Suriname’s Directorate of Fisheries, the alliance has also rolled out a dedicated Fisheries Liaison Officer (FLO) certification track. Trained FLOs will serve as formal points of communication between offshore industrial teams and local small-scale fishing communities, reducing operational conflicts and ensuring fishing stakeholders are notified of planned activity windows. The first cohort of certified FLOs will be deployed from August 1 through the end of December 2026 to support geophysical surveys and shallow geotechnical assessments at the Profosu, Fremosu, Marbonsu, and Sagoewenki drill sites located within Blok 58.
Beyond immediate field deployments, the long-term program framework is structured to scale the local expert pool to 45 to 50 qualified professionals, who will be assigned to roles aligned with their specialized training, including protected species monitoring, acoustic impact assessment, and fisheries sector coordination. The overarching objective of the partnership is to build sustainable domestic capacity for environmental stewardship in Suriname’s fast-growing offshore oil and gas sector, eliminating reliance on external specialized contractors for core environmental monitoring work.
In a parallel development, SOBA has advanced a formal proposal to conduct a comprehensive baseline assessment of marine biodiversity across Suriname’s entire Exclusive Economic Zone, leveraging cutting-edge environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling techniques to generate granular, real-time data on the distribution of marine species across the country’s offshore waters. Representatives from SOBA confirm the proposal has already been shared and discussed with leadership at TotalEnergies EP Suriname to explore pathways for joint implementation.