JEDDAH: Egypt has signed two memorandums of understanding with Syria to supply natural gas for electricity generation and provide petroleum products, as Cairo moves to strengthen its position as a regional energy transit hub.
According to Egypt’s petroleum ministry, the agreements were signed during talks between its Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi and a Syrian delegation led by Deputy Minister of Energy for Oil Affairs Ghiath Diab.
The deals were formalized by Diab and Mohamed El-Bagoury, head of legal affairs at the Egyptian ministry.
The agreements come as Egypt seeks to capitalize on its liquefied natural gas plants, pipelines and floating regasification units to position itself as a regional energy hub.
Syria’s energy sector has been severely weakened by years of conflict and damaged infrastructure, prompting redevelopment efforts and regional cooperation which underscores the importance of external partnerships in rebuilding the country’s power and oil networks.
“The meeting reflects Egypt’s role as a regional logistics hub for all types of energy, both fossil and non-fossil,” the ministry said in a statement, reaffirming its readiness to provide technical expertise and support to Syria’s energy sector as part of efforts to assist the Syrian people.
Under the first MoU, Egypt will cooperate in supplying gas to Syria for power generation, using its existing infrastructure, including regasification vessels and transmission networks.
The second agreement relates to meeting the country’s needs for petroleum products.
The meeting also discussed opportunities to rehabilitate Syria’s oil and gas infrastructure and benefit from Egyptian expertise in the sector.
The deals with follow recent energy cooperation with Lebanon and earlier arrangements with Cyprus aimed at routing Eastern Mediterranean gas through Egypt’s facilities.
Speaking at the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi in November, Badawi highlighted Egypt’s growing role as a regional hub for energy transit and trade, supported by fully integrated and ready infrastructure.
He said this demonstrated the country’s ability to provide a fast, cost-effective and reliable route for delivering East Mediterranean gas resources to global markets at competitive prices.
Badawi cited plans to connect Cyprus’s Cronos gas field to Egypt’s network as a key step toward deeper regional integration, allowing current and future Cypriot discoveries to be processed through Egyptian liquefaction and export facilities.
