Dana Gas has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Syrian Petroleum Company to explore opportunities to redevelop and expand several natural gas fields located in central Syria.

The agreement, published by the company on Wednesday, 12 November, covers the Abu Rabah gas field (in the countryside of Homs, central Syria), one of the largest gas discoveries in Syria, along with a group of other fields operated by the Syrian Petroleum Company.

With this, Dana Gas becomes the first gas project developer to sign such an agreement with the Syrian government.

The memorandum aims to carry out a comprehensive technical assessment of the fields covered by the agreement, as a prelude to proposing an integrated development plan to increase domestic gas production, if the assessment is successful and a final deal is reached to implement the project.

Richard Hall, CEO of Dana Gas, said that signing the memorandum is “an important first step toward assessing opportunities to redevelop gas infrastructure in Syria and unlock its potential.”

Under the memorandum, the designated fields are capable of making a real difference in domestic gas production, according to Hall, which would strengthen Syria’s energy security and support local communities in different parts of the country.

Hall noted that the company’s confidence in the project rests on two main factors:

• The high professionalism and strong technical capabilities of the Syrian Petroleum Company’s team.
• Dana’s extensive experience in development and operations, most recently demonstrated in delivering the Khor Mor KM250 expansion project in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq ahead of schedule, in cooperation with its operating partners.

The CEO stressed that the lessons learned from the KM250 project and the capabilities the company gained are directly applicable to similar projects in Syria.

This type of project, he said, requires precise on-the-ground implementation, strict technical and financial discipline, and a deep understanding of the nature of the area, all of which are essential elements to ensure successful execution.

According to Hall, this partnership represents a strategic opportunity to achieve shared goals in developing Syria’s gas sector and supporting national energy security.

Dana Gas is the first and largest private natural gas company in the Middle East. It was established in December 2005 and is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

The company owns exploration and production assets in Egypt, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates, and through its substantial portfolio in these countries plays an important role in the fast-growing natural gas sector in the Middle East and North Africa.

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The agreement between the Syrian Petroleum Company and Dana Gas comes at a sensitive time, with U.S. sanctions on Damascus currently suspended, opening the door for Arab capital to enter and boost domestic gas production, according to the Washington-based specialist energy platform Energy.

The deal is expected to help restart gas fields in Syria that were severely damaged in recent years, especially major fields in the Homs countryside such as Abu Rabah, which would in turn support electricity generation and reduce costly dependence on imported oil.

The new deal represents a strong boost for Syria’s energy sector, whose output has dropped from 30 million cubic meters per day before 2011 to less than 10 million cubic today, causing a chronic deficit at power generation plants, according to Energy.