Oil & Gas

Gulfsands Petroleum says the value of “stolen production” from the block it operates exceeds USD 3 billion since 2017.

The Ministry of Electricity recently confirmed that it awarded the Deir Ali Power Plant to a local company suspected to have ties to powerful, regime-affiliated war profiteers.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resource has inaugurated a new gas well in the Homs governorate. 

Iran's crude oil exports to Syria appear to have remained high in the first quarter of 2023. Oil supplies in Q4, 2022 and Q1, 2023 were actually higher than in any quarter in the previous two-and-a-half years, which means that the reasons behind the shortages in previous months are still unclear. 

Iran may be putting harsher conditions on its supplies of crude oil to Syria. A recent report has suggested that Tehran has doubled the price at which it sells its oil and that it is now requiring Damascus to pay in cash; these two measures would have a significant fiscal impact on the Syrian government. The reasons behind this policy move are unclear.

The Syrian government has been seeking to increase phosphate production and export as it starts excavating a new mine near Palmyra and renews a barter deal with Belarus.

Iranian crude oil supplies to Syria increased by 8 percent last year, according to some reports, although statements by Syrian officials and a severe oil crisis, which began in August 2022, suggest otherwise.

The changes in the ownership structure of Arfada Petroleum, an oil company previously owned by the Katerji family, have revealed Russia’s influence in the potentially lucrative venture at the expense of the prominent business family.

The suspension of Iranian oil shipments to Syria since early September has caused widespread energy shortages across the country.

The Syrian Salvation Government, the political arm of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham that controls most of the Idlib governorate, has restructured the lucrative oil and mobile telecommunications sectors to its benefit.

The Syrian and Lebanese governments have yet to meet to discuss demarcating their maritime borders, despite Beirut's attempts to initiate negotiations.

Syrian and Russian officials recently discussed joint energy projects at two events in Moscow and Damascus. Though little new information was revealed about the status of these projects, both officials acknowledged that they face difficulties.

The Ministry of Petroleum recently launched a trial phase of four new gas compressors that will eventually increase the gas production of a Russian-built plant in Homs.

Iran’s crude oil exports to Syria for the third quarter of 2022 rose by 27 percent compared with the preceding quarter and reached the highest level since the first quarter of 2020.

Syria’s oil and gas sector has suffered indirect and direct losses totalling USD 107.10 billion from the start of the uprising in 2011 until mid-2022, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Petroleum provided a breakdown of oil and gas production during the first half of the year

The government has recently launched the first phase of a country-wide GPS scheme that requires vehicle owners to install GPS devices or face exemption from the state’s oil subsidy programme. The controversial GPS surveillance system would enable the government to calculate the oil product needs of vehicle owners and surveil ordinary Syrians.

Although Iranian oil supplies to Syria have remained stable and a new Iranian credit line was activated in May, prices have not been curbed. The government recently increased the price of petrol by up to 127 percent, which has immediately impacted the cost of transportation and food.

Last month, the SyrPetro oil and gas exhibition and the CemTech cement conference were held in Damascus, highlighting potential up-and-coming local and foreign players within these industries.

Iran’s crude oil exports to Syria for the second quarter of 2022 were relatively stable compared with the preceding quarter.

Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt signed on June 21 an agreement to import from Egypt 650 million cubic meters of natural gas per year through the Syrian and Jordanian territories.