Oil & Gas

Around 90 local, regional, and international companies took part in the first edition of the Syria International Oil, Gas and Energy Exhibition (SOG), held in Damascus between December 3 and 6. The largest foreign presence came from Saudi Arabia, with eight participating companies. Italy followed with seven companies, and the United Arab Emirates with three.

The Ministry of Energy is in talks with major U.S. energy player Chevron; Conoco Phillips and Novaterra have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop existing gas fields and to explore new fields; UAE-based Dana Gas has signed a MoU to explore natural gas fields; and Serbian Elixir Group is preparing to enter in the phosphate sector. 

The Syrian Ministry of Energy has finalised eight major power generation contracts with an international consortium led by Qatar’s UCC Holding, marking one of the largest foreign investment agreements signed by Damascus in decades. The new projects, with a total production capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW), are expected to reshape Syria’s electricity landscape, which has suffered from years of underinvestment and war-related destruction. The contracts are the materialisation of the strategic partnership agreement reached in May between the two sides.

A Syrian company established in Idlib has landed a major contract to extract some one million tonnes of phosphate, making this little-known company a major actor in the local mining industry.

The Syrian government has issued a new tender for the import of significant volumes of light crude oil.

Following media reports that Syrian businessman Ayman Asfari had made an offer to Croatia’s INA to acquire their stake in Syria’s oil and gas fields, a representative of INA told The Syria Report that INA is “not considering the sale of its stake in the Syrian fields, nor is it engaged in any related negotiations.”

A decree signed by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa has merged all state-owned oil institutions and assets into a single company in a bid to streamline the management of these assets, while raising concerns over transparency and the extensive powers granted to the new body, which falls under the supervision of the Presidential Palace. Under the decree, the recently created Syrian Petroleum Company will replace both the General Petroleum Corporation (GPC) and the Public Establishment for Refining and Distribution (PERD), along with all their subsidiaries, assuming all rights and obligations as mentioned in laws, contracts, or agreements.

Croatia’s INA, one of a handful of international oil companies that operated in Syria prior to 2011, is considering resuming its operations in the country. In a message to The Syria Report, INA said that it “is approaching the potential continuation of operations in Syria proactively and with optimism.”

In recent days, Syria has made several announcements regarding its oil and gas sectors, in a bid to revive an industry that was once a backbone for the country’s economy. These announcements include the resumption of crude oil exports and the launch of two-dimensional and three-dimensional surveys in gas-rich areas.

The recent agreement on the export of more than one billion cubic metres of natural gas per year from Azerbaijan to Syria showcases the increasing importance of Baku’s role on the Syrian scene. The gas, extracted from the large Shah Deniz field, reached Aleppo on Saturday through Turkey via the Killis pipeline. 

This month, Syrian authorities have met with several U.S. companies interested in developing and investing in the country’s energy sector.

In a bid to attract capital and revitalise Syria’s extractive industries, the General Establishment of Geology and Mineral Resources (GEGMR), operating under the Ministry of Energy, has completed preparations for several investment offerings to be launched soon.

One hundred local and foreign companies participated in the sixth edition of the Syria International Petroleum, Energy and Mineral Wealth Expo (SyrPetro), which took place in Damascus from July 7 to 10 at the International Fairgrounds near Damascus.

The Syrian government has invited a Russian company with exploration and production rights in fields located in the east of the country to resume its activities. This communication is the first evidence we have of a direct appeal by the government to foreign oil companies to resume pre-conflict contractual obligations.

Following the recent easing of sanctions against Syria by the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, British oil company Gulfsands is laying the ground to return to Syria. “There are no material sanctions restrictions that would prevent our return to operations,” John Bell, CEO of Gulfsands, told The Syria Report. 

In recent days, the French company CMA CGM signed a new agreement to continue operating the container terminal at the Port of Lattakia, a delegation of British oil company Gulfsands met with Syria's Minister of Energy, and transitional president Ahmad Al-Sharaa welcomed a Chinese business delegation.

The oil supply agreement with the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES) to the Banias and Homs refineries remains stable and ongoing, with foreign companies showing more interest in the sector. In recent weeks, the names of several foreign companies from Azerbaijan, Turkey, and the Czech Republic have surfaced, expressing interest in rehabilitating Syria’s energy sector.

Qatar announced plans to supply Syria with two million cubic metres of natural gas per day (cbmd) via the Arab Gas Pipeline that passes through Jordan, marking the first major initiative aimed at temporarily improving the country’s electricity supply following the ouster of the Syrian regime.

On February 21, Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa met a Chinese delegation led by Shi Hongwei, the ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Syria. This marked the first diplomatic engagement between Beijing and Damascus after the fall of Bashar Al-Assad on December 8.

In a first in over a decade, two oil tankers coming from the Russian port of Primorsk have recently docked in the Syrian port of Banias, according to tracking platform Marine Traffic. The two tankers (Prosperity and Proxima) are sanctioned by the United States.