By Yousef Saba
DUBAI (Reuters) -UAE-based Dana Gas said on Wednesday it had signed a preliminary deal with Syria’s state oil company to assess redeveloping natural gas fields crippled in the 13-year civil war that made Syria reliant on imports from Iran.
Syrian rebels ousted longtime President Bashar al-Assad late last year and the country has since pursued a strategic realignment away from Tehran under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday.
The civil war decimated the country’s energy sector, with natural gas output estimated to have declined to 3 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2023 from 8.7 bcm in 2011.
Reuters has reported a Qatari company’s $7 billion plans for new power plants will mean little unless Damascus can stop armed gangs from looting power cables faster than the cash-strapped government can fix them.
Sharjah-based Dana Gas, listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Syrian Petroleum Company under which it will conduct a comprehensive technical assessment of several existing gas fields in central Syria, including the Abu Rabah field, one of the country’s largest discoveries.
Dana Gas said it will propose a development plan to its Syrian counterparts if the evaluation proves successful.
The move aims to support the Syrian government’s goal of significantly boosting national gas production to fuel power generation and support an energy recovery, Dana Gas said, adding it is the first developer to sign such an agreement.
“The fields identified under this MoU could make a real difference to domestic gas production, strengthening Syria’s energy security and supporting local communities,” Dana Gas CEO Richard Hall said in the statement.
He added that the experience of Dana Gas in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq was directly transferable to such projects.
The company also has exploration and production assets in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
(Reporting by Yousef SabaEditing by Peter Graff)
