The Syrian government\u2019s takeover of key oil and gas fields from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the country\u2019s northeast has raised hopes for the revival of its dilapidated energy sector after years of war and international sanctions.<\/p>\n
Syrian officials announced on Sunday that the government forces had taken control of several oilfields, including al-Omar, Syria\u2019s largest, and the Conoco gas complex in the country\u2019s north and northeast.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n Damascus made the announcement after the United States-trained SDF agreed to relinquish control of Deir Az Zor, Raqqa and Hasakah governorates as part of a ceasefire deal.<\/p>\n While the return of Syria\u2019s energy reserves to government control marks a pivotal moment for the country\u2019s war-battered economy, Damascus will face hurdles ranging from damaged infrastructure to chronic underinvestment as it looks to kick production into high gear, according to industry experts.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite the strategic importance of regaining oil and gas assets, translating sovereignty into production recovery will be gradual and technically complex,\u201d Ahmad al-Dahik, an oil and gas expert based in Qatar, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cOil reservoirs have suffered from unregulated extraction and equipment damage, while pipelines and processing facilities require extensive rehabilitation. Gas, by contrast, is generally less capital-intensive to restore and directly linked to electricity generation, making it the most likely early recovery priority.\u201d<\/p>\n Syria holds an estimated 2.5 billion barrels of oil and 8.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, but the country\u2019s energy sector has been in disarray since its descent into war following a brutal crackdown on largely peaceful antigovernment protests in 2011.<\/p>\n While Syria never ranked among the world\u2019s top fossil fuel producers, the country\u2019s pre-war output covered its domestic energy needs and generated significant revenues for government coffers. The country produced about 380,000 barrels of oil and about 25 million cubic metres of gas per day, generating 20-25 percent of state revenues.<\/p>\n By 2015, when much of Syria was controlled by ISIL (ISIS), production had plunged to an estimated 40,000bpd, according to an analysis by S&P Global Commodity Insights.<\/p>\n Output declined further following ISIL\u2019s defeat by the SDF, standing between 15,000bpd and 30,000bpd in 2019, according to the market analysis firm.<\/p>\n \u201cRehabilitation and new exploration are possible but will take time, and require political stability and a clear regulatory framework,\u201d Carole Nakhle, the CEO of advisory firm Crystol Energy, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cGovernment control could allow more coordinated rehabilitation, but progress will depend on investment, expertise, and access to markets.\u201d<\/p>\n The US, European Union and the United Kingdom\u2019s lifting of most sanctions on Syria in response to the fall of al-Assad\u2019s regime in December 2024 has raised the prospect of an influx of investment by foreign companies, which played a central role in the country\u2019s pre-war production.<\/p>\n Before the war, a joint venture between the state-run Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC), British multinational Shell, China National Petroleum Corporation and India\u2019s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation\u00a0was Syria\u2019s single largest oil producer, accounting for more than one-quarter of production.<\/p>\n SPC CEO Youssef Qeblawi told reporters earlier this week that Shell had expressed its intention to fully withdraw from the al-Omar oilfield, though the British multinational has not publicly commented on its plans.<\/p>\n France\u2019s TotalEnergies, UK\u2019s Gulfsands Petroleum, China\u2019s Sinochem and Canada\u2019s Suncor Energy also oversaw energy projects in Syria until sanctions forced a halt to their operations.<\/p>\n The SPC has signed a slew of preliminary agreements or memorandums of understanding with foreign energy firms in recent months, including US-based ConocoPhillips, the UAE\u2019s Dana Gas, Saudi Arabia\u2019s Arabian Drilling, and Qatar\u2019s UCC Holding.<\/p>\n In December, Syria and neighbouring Turkiye announced an agreement to strengthen energy cooperation, including through the restoration of a gas pipeline linking Aleppo and the Turkish city of Kilis.<\/p>\n Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa last month met representatives from Texas-based Chevron to discuss cooperation in the development of the country\u2019s energy reserves.<\/p>\n David Butter, an analyst on the Middle East at Chatham House, said he expected UK-based Gulfsands to seek to restart its suspended operations at the Block 26 oilfields in Hasakah, while Egyptian companies such as Enppi and Petrojet could also be interested in investing in the sector.<\/p>\n \u201cI would expect the Damascus government to look for private investment in the infrastructure of the east of Deir Az Zor fields and to issue tenders for some specific projects,\u201d Butter told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could see Egyptian companies such as Enppi and Petrojet being involved in contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n Nakhle of Crystol Energy said while Syria may be able to attract \u201csmaller, adventurous investors\u201d, leading companies could be reluctant to invest due to uncertainty around the country\u2019s governance and security conditions. Sunday\u2019s ceasefire hangs in the balance following reports of new fighting.<\/p>\n \u201cIn short, while Syria\u2019s oil and gas sector has potential, rebuilding it will be slow, risky, and heavily dependent on policy, security, and investment conditions,\u201d Nakhle said.<\/p>\n Al-Dahik said restoring Syria\u2019s production to pre-2011 levels would likely take years even under favourable conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe restoration of state control over Syria\u2019s main oil and gas assets is a pivotal political and economic moment. Yet hydrocarbons alone cannot drive recovery,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Syrian government\u2019s takeover of key oil and gas fields from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the country\u2019s northeast has raised hopes for the revival of its dilapidated energy sector after years of war and international sanctions. Syrian officials announced on Sunday that the government forces had taken control of several oilfields, including […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
![\"INTERACTIVE](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/INTERACTIVE-SYRIA-OIL-AND-GAS-JAN-20-2026-1768890134.png?quality=80\")
<\/p>\nSyria\u2019s fossil fuel reserves<\/h2>\n
![\"oil\"](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AFP__20260119__939J4XV__v1__MidRes__SyriaKurdsConflict-1-1768884997.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513&quality=80\")
Prospect of foreign investment<\/h2>\n
Pivotal political and economic moment<\/h2>\n
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