Ankara (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Saturday, Turkey started delivering natural gas from Azerbaijan to Syria, a country whose infrastructure has been severely damaged by a prolonged civil war. The annual supply is expected to reach up to two billion cubic meters.
The authorities in Syria are seriously concerned with the reconstruction of a country that has been devastated over many years of conflict. One of the things that is not being managed well in this reconstruction is the electricity infrastructure of the country, which remains in shambles. In many areas, power is cut for over 20 hours a day, which affects daily life and the potential for economic recovery.
How much gas will be exported annually to Syria?
Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar stated at a ceremony attended by Syria’s energy minister, Azerbaijan’s economy minister, and the head of Qatar’s development fund that the initiative would assist Syria in returning to normal.
“In the initial phase, up to two billion cubic metres of natural gas per year could be exported to Syria,”
he stated in the southern province of Kilis, close to the Syrian boundary.
“The gas will help activate a power plant with a capacity of around 1,200 megawatts, meeting the electricity needs of approximately five million households, and making a significant contribution to the normalisation of daily life in Syria,”
Bayraktar expressed.
“We will transport natural gas to Aleppo and from Aleppo to Homs. This will enable the power plants there to be put into operation in the near future,”
he also said.
What is SOCAR’s involvement in the gas delivery?
Azerbaijan intends to export 1.2 billion cubic metres of gas annually to Syria from the Shah Deniz gas field located in the Azerbaijani Caspian Sea, operated by BP, a senior official at SOCAR, the Azerbaijani state energy company, told Reuters on Saturday. SOCAR Vice President Elshad Nasirov made the statements while in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border, during a ceremony to formally start the natural gas export from Turkey to Syria.
“Approximately 6 million bcm per day was expected to be exported and in the future we expect to be able to supply up to 2 billion bcm of gas to Syria annually during the first phase”
Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar stated.
“The gas supply to Syria will, at a minimum provide the basic energy needs of the people in the regions affected by conflict”
Syrian Energy Minister Mohammad Al-Bashir stated.
What role will Azerbaijani gas play in Syria?
Azerbaijan’s Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov stated that the project is based on agreements made in April and July between Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Syria’s transitional leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa.
He mentioned that gas would be transported via Turkish territory to Syria as part of a coordinated plan.
“By launching gas exports to Syria, Azerbaijan has demonstrated that it is capable of exporting gas not only to the West, but also to the East and the South,”
he stated at the ceremony.
