TotalEnergies signs a new offshore exploration permit in Suriname, two days after the end of COP28

The reduction of fossil fuels is not current at TotalEnergies. The French giant announced, Friday December 15 in a press release, the signing of a new offshore exploration permit in Suriname. It will operate with QatarEnergy and Petronas in a vast block of 6,262 km2 located some 250 kilometers from the coast. A new contract which comes two days after the signing of the final text of COP28 which calls, for the first time, to gradually abandon fossil fuels.

Fossil energies are oil, coal and gas. We call them “fossils” because they come from the decomposition, in the soil, of living elements over hundreds of millions of years. Their extraction and combustion at a breakneck pace is the main cause of global warming.

At the end of September, TotalEnergies had already announced that it was launching development studies for a large oil project of 200,000 barrels of oil per day off the coast of Suriname, with “as a goal” to make a final investment decision “end of 2024”according to its CEO, Patrick Pouyanné.

Since the 19th century, the average temperature of the Earth warmed by 1.1°C. Scientists have established with certainty that this increase is due to human activities, which consume fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). This warming, unprecedented in its speed, threatens the future of our societies and biodiversity. But solutions – renewable energies, sobriety, reduced meat consumption – exist. Discover our answers to your questions on the climate crisis.