Suriname and Venezuela are deepening cooperation in the oil and gas sector following the signing of a new hydrocarbon agreement during a high-level Venezuelan visit to Paramaribo on Friday, September 11, 2026.
Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodríguez visited Suriname on September 11, during which the two countries signed a 2026–2027 roadmap for cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector. The agreement was among a wider package of bilateral cooperation arrangements.
The energy agreement provides for cooperation in oil and gas exploration and production, including technical assistance and training.
The development comes as Suriname prepares to move toward large-scale offshore petroleum production following major discoveries in its offshore blocks.
Venezuela, which has decades of experience in petroleum exploration and production, offers Suriname access to technical expertise as Paramaribo develops the human resources and institutional capacity needed to manage its emerging oil industry.
The agreement has wider regional significance because Guyana and Suriname are emerging as major petroleum producers in the same offshore basin.
Guyana has already transformed its economy since commercial oil production began in 2019, while Suriname is preparing for its own major offshore development.
The growing energy relationship between Venezuela and Suriname will also be watched closely in Guyana because Venezuela remains involved in the long-running territorial dispute over Guyana’s Essequibo region.
For Suriname, however, the immediate focus is economic: building the capacity necessary to convert offshore discoveries into production, government revenue and wider economic development.
The two countries also agreed to strengthen cooperation beyond petroleum, including areas such as food security and economic development.
The agreements come as international companies and governments increasingly position themselves around the emerging Guiana-Suriname energy corridor.
Indonesia’s state-owned energy company Pertamina, for example, is also exploring upstream oil and gas investment opportunities in Guyana and Suriname.
The latest Venezuela-Suriname agreement therefore adds another layer to the rapidly changing energy and geopolitical landscape of northern South America.
