PARAMARIBO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - France's TotalEnergies

and U.S. APA Corp on Tuesday announced a

positive investment decision for Suriname's most promising oil

and gas project, Block 58, which is expected to inaugurate the

nation's offshore output.

TotalEnergies expects to begin output at the $10.5 billion

project in the first half of 2028. Reuters on Monday disclosed

the agreement for the financial greenlight.

The small South American country wants to follow in the

footsteps of neighboring Guyana, where a consortium led by Exxon

Mobil ( XOM ) has discovered more than 11 billion barrels of

recoverable oil and gas resources.

Suriname is working to secure comparatively larger revenues

through a legal framework including higher royalties and taxes,

and signing bonuses that plan to be reinvested in healthcare and

local content.

The announcement was made at Suriname's presidential

cabinet in presence of President Chan Santokhi, TotalEnergies'

CEO Patrick Pouyanne, APA's CEO John Christmann and the CEO of

Suriname's state energy company Staatsolie, Annand Jagesar.

"Our policy, and that will go for any government, is aiming

to raise the standard of living for our population will be

significantly higher," Santokhi said.

FAST-TRACK

TotalEnergies and APA plan to develop the Sapakara and

Krabdagu fields, renamed as "Gran Morgu", with combined

recoverable resources estimated above 700 million barrels.

"We are very proud of it," Pouyanne said of the velocity of

the development, which took only one year from the completion of

well appraisal to the final investment decision (FID).

A Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility

being built in Asia for the project, with a

200,000-barrel-per-day capacity, is expected to be one of the

company's largest, Pouyanne said. That contract, along with

others including energy infrastructure builders SBM Offshore

and Saipem, represent a total of $7 billion,

he added.

A total of 32 new wells will be drilled as part of a

field development plan approved and signed by TotalEnergies and

APA on Tuesday, the companies said.

TotalEnergies, the project's operator, plans to recover

about $1.4 billion spent in exploration in the area since 2019.

Staatsolie, which has been raising funds to participate

with a 20%-stake in the project, secured a first $175 million

payment and is now in talks with banks and planning a bond offer

to complete a second payment, CEO Jagesar said.

Pouyanne said a deadline for Staatsolie to complete its

investment commitment could be extended through December next

year if necessary.

APA's CEO Christmann underlined the geologic potential

in the Atlantic Margin's deep waters, which has resulted in

large discoveries in Guyana, Suriname and Brazil.

"FID is a point of no return," Jagesar said. "Suriname

will never be the same."