Structural and Institutional Barriers to SME Participation in Suriname’s Offshore Oil and Gas Sector
Vincent Roep (2026)
View PDF Published: 2026-01-26
Vincent Roep ✉️, Department of Business Management, Faculty of Social Sciences. Anton de Kom University of Suriname. Leysweg 68, Paramaribo, Suriname.
Abstract
This study investigates the structural and institutional barriers limiting the participation of Surinamese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country’s emerging offshore oil and gas sector, following the 2024 Final Investment Decision (FID) for the GranMorgu project. The study advances a novel analytical framework that integrates FID-based political economy theory with institutional economics to explain how investment sequencing and governance quality jointly shape domestic enterprise participation. Employing a qualitative, multi-method design—comprising document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and comparative case studies of Ghana and Angola—the research identifies capital constraints, certification deficits, and fragmented institutional coordination as key impediments. Nevertheless, SMEs exhibit an adaptive capacity and willingness to collaborate with international partners. The findings underscore that inclusive resource-led development in small states requires synchronised macro-level investment governance and micro-level institutional reform to translate hydrocarbon wealth into broad-based economic opportunity.
Keywords: GranMorgu project, institutional economics, local content policy, SMEs, Final Investment Decision
Click here to access the full-length research paper.
