Financial Times: An American company is preparing to revive gas production in Syria economy

The British Financial Times newspaper revealed that ConocoPhillips is preparing to sign a contract with the new Syrian government to revive gas production, in a move that makes it the first major American oil and gas company to conclude an agreement of this kind with Damascus since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The newspaper reported that the contract, expected to be signed this week, will bring together ConocoPhillips and Novaterra Energy with the Syrian Petroleum Company, to develop existing gas fields and search for new ones, based on a memorandum of understanding that Damascus announced its signing in November 2025.

The Syrian News Agency (SANA) had at the time quoted the CEO of the Syrian Petroleum Company, Youssef Qiblawi, as saying that the memorandum aims to reintroduce ConocoPhillips to work in Syria, expecting it to increase gas production by between 4 and 5 million cubic meters per day within one year of starting work, in addition to exploring a new field that requires about 3 years to develop.

In May 2026, ConocoPhillips signed another memorandum of understanding with the Syrian Petroleum Company, Total Energies, and Qatar Energy to study commercial exploration opportunities in Syrian territorial waters.

Gas bet

The potential agreement comes as Damascus is trying to address a chronic energy crisis after gas production fell from a pre-war peak of about 30 million cubic meters per day in 2011 to about a third of this level, according to estimates reported by the newspaper, while Syrian government data indicate that the country needs about 23 million cubic meters of gas per day, in addition to about 5 thousand tons of fuel per day, to provide continuous electricity.

Syria currently relies on regional imports and supplies to improve the electrical supply.

SANA reported earlier that the first phase of the project to supply Syria with Azerbaijani gas via Turkey, with Qatari funding, provides about 3.4 million cubic meters per day of gas used in generating electricity, after a previous Qatari initiative to supply two million cubic meters per day via Jordan to the Deir Ali station, raising the daily supply from two hours to four hours.

ConocoPhillips’ move falls within a broader wave of agreements in the Syrian energy sector, as in April 2026, the Syrian Petroleum Company signed an executive contract with the Saudi Addis Holding Company to develop a number of gas fields, including maintenance of existing wells and drilling new exploratory wells, with an expectation of a gradual increase in production by about 25% within 6 months and up to 50% by the end of the year.

The return of American companies to work in Syria is based on the lifting of American sanctions on the country.