LONDON: Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa met Frank Mount, president of corporate business development at Chevron, to discuss the progress of an energy project along the Syrian coast.
The US energy giant will begin offshore gas exploration this summer, marking Syria’s first deep-water gas project, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
The Syrian Petroleum Company announced that the country has five offshore exploration blocks extending from Tartus to Latakia in the Mediterranean Sea.
SPC signed a memorandum of understanding with Chevron and Power International Holding in February to study the energy potential of one of these fields, before Chevron decided to move ahead with offshore exploration in April. However, the potential discovery of offshore gas reservoirs could take three to four years, SANA reported.
The agreement is part of wider steps taken by Damascus to attract foreign investment and reconstruct vital sectors severely damaged during the civil war that lasted from 2011 to 2024.
After the collapse of the Assad regime, several countries, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, sent large shipments of crude oil and liquefied natural gas to bolster Syria’s energy sector.
Al-Sharaa’s meeting with Mount in Damascus was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Al-Shaibani; Minister of Energy Mohammad Al-Bashir; and Youssef Qablawi, CEO of the Syrian Petroleum Company.
