Suriname Energy, Oil and Gas Summit & Exhibition (SEOGS 2026)
Remarks
by
Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP
Prime Minister of Jamaica
at the
Suriname Energy, Oil and Gas Summit & Exhibition (SEOGS 2026)
On
June 23, 2026
________________________________________________
Madam President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning,
I bring warm greetings of the government and people of Jamaica, and I thank Staatsolie and the Government of Suriname for the honor of addressing you at this remarkable moment in your history. This session is about the journey from oil and offshore development to project delivery, and there is no better place in the world to have that conversation than right here in your beautiful country. With the final investment decision in GranMorgu and first oil now in sight, Suriname has crossed the threshold from promise to delivery. This is the largest investment in your nation’s history, but it is more than just a Surinamese milestone.
When one of our nations in the region rises, the entire region rises. So, on behalf of Jamaica, I say to Suriname, congratulations. We are proud of you, and we stand with you with recoverable resources of more than seven hundred and fifty million barrels, an investment of approximately ten point five billion United States dollars, and a planned production capacity of two hundred and twenty thousand barrels per day, GranMargu is not simply another energy project. It represents an economic transformation. The International Monetary Fund estimates that by 2029, the fiscal revenues generated by this development could be equivalent to approximately one-fifth of Suriname’s present economic output. Equally important is the fact that Suriname is not standing at the margin of its own development. Through Staatsolie twenty percent (20%) participation requiring approximately 2.4 billion United States dollars in financing, national ownership is being built into the project from the beginning. That is an important example for the entire region; that is an important position to take in your own development. Foreign capital and expertise can be welcomed while the people who own the resources retain a meaningful stake in the value it creates.
We meet at a time when the world is anxious about energy. There is a school of thought that says the age of oil and gas is ending, and that the only respectable conversation is about how quickly to leave it behind. The reality, however, is that the world’s renewable energy transition is being outpaced by the growth of total energy demand and as was presented, it is clear that the growth of energy demand will be significant, and we will still need to invest and support the development of the oil and gas industry to meet that demand. But let me be clear, that is not an argument against renewables.
Jamaica is among the most climate vulnerable nations on Earth. Just last year, we were hit by the most powerful hurricane ever recorded, and we are therefore acutely aware of the climate imperative and urgency, but precisely because we are realists about the climate, we must also be realists about energy. The responsible path is not oil or renewables; it is a pragmatic mix. Oil, gas, solar, hydro, and eventually nuclear. That keeps the lights on while we build a cleaner future our children deserve. For many years, Jamaica spoke about energy principally as a consumer. In 2024 alone, we imported nearly two billion United States dollars in petroleum products and natural gas. Every international price shock is therefore transmitted into our electricity bills. Transportation costs, food costs, and foreign exchange demand, which all are wrapped up into the cost of living. That is why today, Jamaica is taking charge of its own energy future. Jamaica operates Petrojam, one of CARICOM’s few functioning petroleum refineries, with a nominal capacity of approximately 35,000 barrels per day. We have an ambitious plan to modernize it because we believe it can serve Jamaica more efficiently and contribute alongside facilities such as Staatsolie’s refinery here in Suriname to the resilience of the wider Caribbean energy system.
Jamaica is also seriously exploring its own offshore frontier. Yes, we are known for our beaches, tourism and culture, but who knows? Maybe in the grand design there is some oil offshore somewhere. Early-stage seabed work completed this year has returned encouraging preliminary signs of a working petroleum system across a basin, whose potential is estimated in the billions of barrels. And I’m seeing some eyes opening right here in the audience. Yes. But you who are the experts in this room, you know that it is a long journey from discovery to delivery. These are early days. We have not confirmed commercial volumes, and no promises are being made. We’re cautious and prayerfully optimistic. Even as we explore what may lie beneath our waters, Jamaica is diversifying its energy base with determination.
In 2024, natural gas supplied approximately 60% of our grid electricity, petroleum supplied approximately 30%, and renewable resources just over 10%. Our objective is to generate half of our electricity from renewable resources by 2030. We have already awarded approximately 100 megawatts of new solar generation, and we have launched the largest renewable energy tender ever undertaken in the Caribbean, 300 megawatts of renewable generation paired with 150 megawatts of battery storage. Energy security for a small island like Jamaica is never about betting on one fuel or one supplier. It is about building many parts so that we keep the lights on, the economy moving, the cost of living within reach of our people, whatever the world may throw at us. That brings me to the larger idea I want to leave with you.
For most of our modern history, the Caribbean’s energy security depended on forces outside the region, on the goodwill of others whose circumstances could change overnight. We learned how fragile that is when a war on the far side of the world sent fuel prices and food prices spiraling, and small economies like ours paid the bill. Something historic is now possible among Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and perhaps in time, others, Jamaica, this region holds world-class resources that opens an opportunity we have never had before, energy security supplied within our own family. Producers supplying reliable oil and gas at fair and predictable prices. Islands given the runway to scale the renewables that suit them best. This is what Economic Integration was always meant to deliver. Now, we have an opportunity to make energy the strongest thread binding our single market together.
For our region, energy independence means keeping value, capital, and decision-making in our own hands, so that when the next global shock comes, we are not waiting for others to decide our fate. Let me close on this. The wealth beneath our waters belongs to Suriname and to your generations. To the Surinamese children not yet born: you hold this in trust and history will judge the generations of leaders in your country and in other countries that have discovered oil and other such natural resources. So, across our region we will be judged by not what or how much we extracted from our natural resources, but how wisely we steward these resources for future generations to benefit.
There are so many examples of countries that have extracted natural resources, and in retrospect, on reflection, the most was not made of it. Jamaica has had this experience and other countries have had many other experiences. In fact, there are those in my own country who look at the possibility of discovering oil and extracting oil as a potential curse on the country, but I believe the experiences of the past are there to give us a particular value, and that is, we must not make the mistakes of the past, we must learn from them. I firmly believe that Suriname, Guyana and other countries that are discovering these resources have far more experience, far more knowledge, and far more commitment to ensuring that these resources are used ultimately for the benefit of the current generation and future generations to come.
I’ve spoken with your president, I believe Suriname has a very thoughtful and dedicated leader, and I want to commend my colleague head in CARICOM, President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons for the spectacular work that you’re doing in leading your nation, and I see a great future for the people of Suriname.
So let us be worthy of that trust. Let us turn discovery into development and development into dignity. Let us prove that our nations can manage great wealth with great responsibility. Suriname, you have unlocked something powerful. May it bring lasting prosperity to your people, and may your example inspire a whole region to claim its own future with the same courage.
Thank you.