The Syrian Petroleum Company and Jordan’s National Electric Power Company signed an agreement to supply Syria with about 4 million cubic meters of natural gas per day (equivalent to 140 million cubic feet).
Syria’s Ministry of Energy announced today, Monday, 26 January, that the agreement aims to secure natural gas supplies via Jordanian territory to support Syria’s electricity system.
Jordanian Minister of Energy Saleh al-Kharabsheh said supply operations had effectively begun on 1 January, with quantities ranging between 30 and 90 million cubic feet per day, via a regasification vessel chartered from the Egyptian side (Energos Force), moored at Aqaba Port until the end of next March. He noted that the agreement will help stabilize Syria’s electricity system.
Al-Kharabsheh added that Jordan’s electricity company has started procedures to charter a new floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to replace the current vessel, ensuring continued gas supply in line with operational requirements.
For his part, Syrian Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said the agreement represents an important step within government efforts to strengthen fuel supplies for the electricity sector and improve the reliability of power delivery, particularly given the challenges the energy sector has faced over the past years.
Al-Bashir noted that the agreement would help diversify gas sources and increase the operational efficiency of power plants, thereby improving the level of services provided to citizens.
The Ministry of Energy said the agreement was signed on the Syrian side by Hisham al-Saleh, deputy CEO for the gas sector at the Syrian Petroleum Company, and on the Jordanian side by Sufyan al-Battayneh, director general of the National Electric Power Company.
It added that the agreement comes within the framework of boosting bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the energy sector, meeting part of Syria’s natural gas needs to support the electricity sector.
The media office at the Ministry of Energy told Enab Baladi that Jordan has a regasification terminal at Aqaba Port and that there is no single source for the gas imported to it, explaining that it is a global terminal that receives gas from countries around the world.
The media office said the first shipment was from Egypt, and subsequent shipments may come from other sources.
Two memoranda of understanding with Egypt
Syria’s Ministry of Energy signed two memoranda of understanding with Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in the fields of gas and petroleum derivatives, as part of developing joint Arab cooperation in the energy sector.
According to what the Ministry of Energy published on 5 January, the first memorandum aims to cooperate on supplying natural gas to support electricity production in Syria by making use of available technical capabilities and infrastructure.
The second memorandum aims to cooperate in petroleum derivatives in a way that meets the needs of Syria’s energy sector.
The meeting between the two sides also discussed areas of technical cooperation and the exchange of expertise in the oil and gas sectors, especially regarding rehabilitating and developing energy infrastructure to enhance the efficiency of the energy system and support recovery and rehabilitation plans.
On the sidelines of signing the memoranda, Deputy Minister of Energy for Oil Affairs Ghiyath Diab discussed prospects for cooperation between Syria and Egypt with Mahmoud Abdel Hameed, head of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, and Salaheldin El Sayed Abdel Kerim, head of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation. The discussions covered cooperation in exploration, production, transport, distribution, and other aspects related to natural gas.
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