The sixth edition of the Suriname Energy, Oil & Gas Summit and Exhibition (SEOGS) opened on June 23, 2026, with a major announcement that capped the opening ceremony: Malaysian energy giant Petronas has made a new gas discovery off the coast of Suriname. Suriname President Jennifer Simons made the revelation during her opening address to an audience of international energy firm representatives, institutional investors, policy leaders, and energy sector experts gathered for the annual industry event.
Simons told attendees she had been briefed earlier the same day by Petronas’ Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President for Upstream operations on the find, which has been named Sloanea-1 and is located in Block 52, offshore Suriname. Calling the breakthrough truly good news for the South American nation, Simons emphasized it lays critical groundwork for multiple future oil and gas developments and paves the way for a stronger, more prosperous future for all Surinamese, drawing applause from the assembled attendees. The president’s announcement marked the clear highlight of the SEOGS 2026 opening proceedings, which brought global sector stakeholders together to chart the future of Suriname’s fast-growing oil and gas industry.
Beyond the landmark discovery, Simons used her keynote address to outline core priorities for the sector’s development moving forward. She stressed that all projected future oil and gas revenues must deliver widespread benefit to Suriname’s entire society, rather than narrow interests. In a call to action for the country’s young population, the president urged Suriname’s youth to prepare early for the wide range of new employment and economic opportunities the expanding sector will create, by prioritizing investment in education, vocational training, and advanced technical skills.
Simons also underscored three additional guiding principles for long-term sector growth: increasing local content participation in energy projects, advancing broader economic diversification to reduce overreliance on natural resource exports, and implementing sustainable, responsible management of future energy revenues. Industry analysts note that the new Sloanea-1 discovery will significantly bolster market confidence in the untapped potential of Suriname’s offshore basin, which has emerged as a hotbed of new hydrocarbon finds in recent years. As of the summit opening, no further technical details regarding the size or estimated reserves of the new gas discovery have been released to the public.