ConocoPhillips to Sign Syria Gas Deal, +5 MCM/D
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is set to become the first U.S. oil and gas major to sign a contract with Syria’s new government. The agreement, expected to be signed this week according to the Financial Times, is with the state‑owned Syrian Petroleum Company and will be executed jointly with Novaterra Energy. The partnership will focus on developing existing gasfields and exploring new ones, building on a memorandum of understanding signed in November.
The contract is projected to increase Syria’s gas output by between 4 million and 5 million cubic meters per day within a year. Syria’s current gas production has fallen to roughly one‑third of its 2011 pre‑war peak of 30 million cubic meters per day, creating a shortfall for a grid that requires about 18 million cubic meters daily. To meet this demand, the country presently relies on imports from Azerbaijan and Qatar. Recent improvements have raised electricity availability from roughly two hours per day to about 13 hours, though the grid remains dependent on imported gas.
The ConocoPhillips deal follows the earlier entry of U.S. firm HKN Energy, which began operating the Rmeilan oilfields in north‑east Syria after finalising a 25‑year upstream contract with Damascus. In April, the Syrian Petroleum Company also signed a separate agreement with Saudi Arabia’s ADES Holding Company to develop additional gasfields.