Suriname Energy Situation

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Suriname

Capital:

Paramaribo

Region:

Latin America

Coordinates:

5.8333° N, 55.1667° W

Total Area (km²): It includes a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.

163,820

Population: It is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin.

628,886 (2023)

Rural Population (% of total population): It refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.

34 (2023)

GDP (current US$): It is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources.

3,455,146,281 (2023)

GDP Per Capita (current US$): It is gross domestic product divided by midyear population

5,494.07 (2023)

Access to Electricity (% of population): It is the percentage of population with access to electricity.

99.00 (2022)

Energy Imports Net (% of energy use): It is estimated as energy use less production, both measured in oil equivalents. A negative value indicates that the country is a net exporter. Energy use refers to use of primary energy before transformation to other end-use fuels, which is equal to indigenous production plus imports and stock changes, minus exports and fuels supplied to ships and aircraft engaged in international transport.

-43.76 (2014)

Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption (% of total): It comprises coal, oil, petroleum, and natural gas products.

76.25 (2014)

Source: World Bank

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Introduction

Suriname, also known as Republic of Suriname, is a country located on the north-eastern Atlantic coast of South America. The country’s total area is below 165,000 Km², which makes it the smallest country in South America. 80% of the country’s area is covered with tropical rain forests, with only 1.5 million ha are considered suitable for agriculture. The majority of the country’s inhabitants are located in the country’s north coast, particularly within and around the capital ‘Paramaribo’.

Suriname is bordered by French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south & the Atlantic Ocean to the north. The region in the north is mostly lowland coastal area, where most of the land has been cultivated, while the southern part consists of tropical rainforest and randomly distributed inhabited savanna along the county’s borders with Brazil.

Suriname's Map (FAO, 2015).PNG

The country’s climate is mostly hot and humid through the year; equatorial in coastal areas, tropical monsoon further inland and tropical savannah in the south-western portions of the country. Suriname has two wet seasons; the 1^st and the main one is from April to July, and the 2^nd and shorter one is in the period December-January. The northern populated area has four different seasons: a minor rainy season from early December to early February, a minor dry season from early February to late April, a major rainy season from late April to mid-August and a major dry season from mid-August to early December .

Suriname has a variety of natural resources, but the national economy is dominated by certain mining activities and agricultural products . The primary mining products are: oil, bauxite and gold, while in the agriculture sector, rice and bananas are the dominant products. Suriname is highly energy-independent due to the combination of the mining of fossil fuels and the significant wealth of hydropower, thus, energy-wise, it is a very self-sufficient country. 

After Trinidad & Tobago, and Cuba, Suriname comes in as the 3^rd largest oil producer in the Caribbean.

Energy Situation

Overview

According to REEEP (2013), Suriname has small amounts of fossil fuels reserves, which are mostly exploited by the government-owned company ‘Staatsoli’. The country has a refinery, which has a production capacity of about 7,500 barrels/day. With regard to these numbers, it is comprehendible that, amongst the Caribbean countries, Suriname is the least reliant on fossil fuels for electricity generation. 

The most significant energy source in the country is considered to be hydro-electricity, which was used in 2010 to supply 95% of its electricity generation. Notably, around 26% of Suriname’s total energy supply is generated through Lake Brokopondo’s hydropower system.

A study that was carried out in 2014 has analyzed the Suriname’s energy matrix as indicated in the following figures.

The Energy Matrix's Key (Ramón & Humpert, 2014)

Suriname's Energy Matrix (Ramón & Humpert, 2014).PNG

According to this analysis:

• Suriname produces 17,350 barrels of oil equivalent if primary energy per day.
• The larger amount of this production comes from crude oil (15,600 boe/day).
• Hydropower accounts for 1,270 boe/day, while combustible renewables and waste account for 430 boe/day.
  
• The country imports approximately 300 boe/day of LPG, and 8,930 boe/day of oil products.
• The crude oil production mentioned above is refined and turned into 16,230 boe/day of oil products; thus divided to: 6,790 boe/day which are used for electricity generation and 9,380 boe/day are designed for export.
• Suriname also produces around 1,270 boe/day of hydropower & 2,200 boe/day of electricity.
  
• Suriname's total losses from heat and waste are approximately 6,000 boe/day.
• The country's total final consumption is about 11,000 boe/day, distributed as follows: 

1. 410 boe/day from CR&W.
2. 300 boe/day from LPG.
3. 2,200 boe/day from electricity.
4. 8,080 boe/day from oil products.

• The country's total consumption is divided among different sectors as follows:

1. 5,100 boe/day for transportation (~45%).
2. 1,500 boea/day for residential sector.
3. 1,200 boe/day for the industrial sector.
4. Other sectors (e.g. agriculture ..) altogether combine for 3,200 boe/day.

Energy Access

Suriname's Total Access to Electricity 1990-2016 (Tracking SDG7, 2018).PNG

Suriname's Urban & Rural Access to Electricity 1990-2016 (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Table.1: Suriname's Total, Urban & Rural Access to Electricity

	Total Access				Rural	Urban
Year	2000	2010	2014	2016	2016	2016
Population (%)	97	91	88	87	96	69

Suriname's Access to Clean Cooking 2000-2016 (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Table.2: Clean Cooking Access Percentages in Suriname 2000-2016

Year	2000	2010	2014	2016
Population (%)	80	87	89	90

Production

Suriname’s total energy production in 2016 was approximately 0.9Mtoe.

Suriname's Total Energy Supply 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Installed Capacity

In 2010, Suriname’s total installed electricity capacity was 355MW, which were distributed as follows: 15MW from Staatsoile, 78MW from Suralco, 82 MW from EBS and 180MW from hydropower.

The installed capacity by 2016 was around 504,000kW, from which 61% were from fossil fuels, 38% were from hydroelectric plants and about 1% from renewable sources.

Consumption

Suriname's Total Final Consumption by Energy Source 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Suriname's Sectorial Total Final Consumption (IEA, 2018)

Import and Export

Suriname's Net Energy Imports 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

In 2017, Suriname’s total exports were approximately $2.69B, from which refined petroleum was about $133M (~5%), and rough wood was $68.2M (~2.5%).

Electricity

Table.3: Suriname's General Electricity Data in 2017

Indicator	Production	Consumption	Exports	Imports	Installed Generating Power
Capacity	1.967 billion kWh	1.75 kWh	0	0	504,000 kW
World Ranking	138	144	204	206	149

Table.4: Suriname's Electricity Installed Capacity by Source

Source	Fossil Fuels	Nuclear Fuels	Hydroelectric Plants	Renewable Sources
% of Total Installed Capacity	61	0	38	1
World Rank	129	189	56	145

Suriname's Total Electricity Generation by Fuel 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Suriname's Total Electricity Consumption 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Suriname's Different Shares of Electricity Generation by Fuel in 2016 (IEA, 2018)

Around 5% of Suriname's total electricity production comes through small power generators, which are managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources. These small power generators are located in remote interior areas of the country, and are operated by independent contractors.

Suriname's power sector consists of a number of individual power systems, of which some are interconnected. In the region of Paramaribo, electric power is supplied by means of: 180MW of hydroelectric power, supplying about 75% of the energy, and 66MW of diesel generation.

Suriname's independent power systems are listed belowe:

• EPAR (82MW, which is owned by EBS, and centers on Paramaribo and its surroundings).
• ENIC (15.9MW, which is also owned by EBS, and covers Nieuw Nickerei and its surrounding area).
• The Rural District Power Systems (around 18MW, and owned by EBS as well)
• Brokopondo's Distribution Systems.

All the mentioned power systems above are located along the coastline. Within the country's interior, 111 villages are equipped diesel-fueled electricity generators, with a capacity range 15-149kW.

The main electricity suppliers in Suriname are:

• Suralco L.L.C. (a private-owned company with 189MW).
• N.V. Energybedrijven Suriname (N.V. EBS).
• Staatsolie Power Company Suriname (15MW).
• Dienst Electriciteitsvoorziening (DEV).

From those suppliers, Suralco's Afobaka hydro plant is the largest, and it delivers the majority of the electricity consumed. 

The electricity sector in Suriname has been foreced to be dependent on development aid, both directly and indirectly. The required necessary investments in the sector are either postponed, dismissed or scaled down, consequently causing a backlog of maintenance activities, and an increasing inability to keep up with the growing demand for electricity.

Energy Security

Suriname is a rich country in its natural resources (uranium, oil, gas, sunlight, hydro, biomass etc.), which with the current available technologies can produce huge amounts of energy. Yet, the country suffers few failures when it comes to the operational and maintenance practices of the existing power systems:

• Improper and/or outdated practices.
• Reactive/corrective maintenance philosophy.
  
• Insufficient funds to execute preventive or predictive maintenance.
  
• Management acceptance of deviations from engineering and maintenance standards.
  

Multi-Level Perspective of Suriname's Energy Sector (Lachman, 2013)

Between the richness of the natural resources of the country, and the poorness of efficient and proper operating and maintenance, the security of Suriname’s energy sector’s suffers many uncertainties, which can be divided into: 

-> (The numbers between the brackets are for a better understanding of the next figure)

• Internal Critical Uncertainties (stemming from within Suriname's own energy sector), such as:

1. The quality of the government regarding (energy) policy making and deployment. (1)
   
2. Energy consumption patterns. (2)
3. Willingness of public to accept unpopular measures to increase energy security. (3)
4. Adoption of energy efficiency and saving guidelines. (4)
   
5. Perception of alternative energy by the population. (5)
   
6. Discovery of significant natural resources reserves, in particular hydrocarbons, which are suitable for exploitation. (6)
7. Depletion of natural resources. (7)
   
8. Entrance/exit of large energy consumers. (8)
9. Natural resource exploitation (e.g. deforestation, soil erosion) and its effects on energy production. (9)
10. Rural poverty/urban migration. (10)

• External Critical Uncertainties (factors from the outer landscape -as shown in the figure bove-, e.g. from the global energy system), such as:

1. Oil price behavior. (11)
2. Climate change, natural disasters and their effects on Suriname’s energy system and renewable energy potential. (12)
3. Global economic climate. (13)
4. International technological breakthroughs and their deployment. (14)
5. The moment of global oil production peaking. (15)
6. Global willingness to put climate change above short-term, domestic and/or economic interests. (16)
7. Transfer of new energy technologies to Suriname. (17)
8. Relationship with neighboring countries. (18)

Ranking of Internal (Blue) & External (Green) Uncertainties in Suriname (Lachman, 2013)

Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy Share in Suriname's Total Energy Consumption 1990-2015 (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Suriname's Renewable Energy Share in Accordance to the Type of End-Use (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Suriname's Renewable Energy Consumption with Accordance to Source in 2015 (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Table.5: Suriname's Total Renewable Energy Capacity 2008-2017

Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Installed Capacity (MW)	180	180	180	180	180	181	186	188	188	188

According to the graphs and reports from International Energy Agency (IEA) and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Suriname does not have a strong renewables' sector at the moment. The country's production of electricity comes mainly from hydro power.

Suriname's Electricity Generation from Renewables by Source 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Hydropower

According to the International Hydropower Association (IHA)'s 2017 report on global hydropower status, Suriname ranks as the 11th country in South-America in terms of installed capacity with 189MW in 2017.

Suriname's Electricity Generation from Hydro Power 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

As illustrated in the following graph, hydro-power generation utterly dominates the renewables' sector in the country, with about 100% Suriname's renewables' generating capacity.

Shares of Different Renewable Sources in Suriname in 2016 (IEA, 2018)