With investors waiting, Guyana hopes Suriname will agree to gas partnership soon

As the fifth annual Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo got underway on Tuesday in Georgetown, the country’s President Dr Irfaan Ali made clear that his government is eager to partner with neighbouring Suriname to jointly develop natural gas resources.

President Ali has been pushing for a Guyana- Suriname partnership for years. Since being re-elected in September 2025, the Guyanese leader has been championing a second natural gas project in the county of Berbice, which is at the Suriname border.

On Tuesday, he again spoke about the Berbice plans— this time emphasising that the second gas-to-energy plant will be built in the county, and that a new deepwater port will spur faster industrial development there.

However, he remained focused on neighbouring Suriname and an integrated gas project.

“We’re hoping that very quickly, we can have some decisions because our investors are waiting on those decisions. We want this partnership,” the Guyanese President said.

Guyana has about a decade of rapid development in the oil and gas industry, and has established itself as a major player globally for its production. Guyana is hoping to build in-country capacity too, to meet local energy demands but also to export across the region, President Ali said at the conference.

Across the border, new oil and gas developments are taking shape in Suriname. Guyana’s President believes that his country is a solid partner, not just because of proximity but because expansion plans are already taking shape.