Syria's Energy Comeback Could Reshape Middle East Oil and Gas

Syria is undergoing countrywide reconstruction after more than a decade of conflict, which caused extensive infrastructure damage and led to millions of people being displaced. As Syrians rebuild their lives, the government has big plans for economic diversification and growth to support long-term recovery. Thanks to its favourable geographic position, this includes the development of a strong energy sector that could help eventually establish Syria as a regional hub.

Syria is now led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who formed a transitional government on March 29, 2025, following the end of the Assad regime. The government has introduced a wide range of policies and reforms over the past year, across all sectors, aimed at improving living standards and supporting economic growth. The national strategy focuses on institutional reorganisation, security integration, economic stabilisation, and transitional justice ahead of planned national elections in 2030.

The transitional government has taken control over Syrian energy, including the Omar oil field and Tabiyeh gas complex. This follows over a decade during which Syria's energy sector was split, with Damascus situated far from the country's oil-rich northeast. For years, while the government still oversaw gas output in the country's central region, it lost control of some of the country's largest production sites.

A 2026 agreement between the transitional government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) provides the potential to integrate SDF forces into state structures, which could further unify energy governance. Meanwhile, the lifting of United States and European Union sanctions on Syria, following the fall of the Assad regime, and the relaunch of the SWIFT transfer system have made it easier for international companies to invest in Syria.

Before the conflict, which commenced in 2011, Syria was producing an average of 380,000 bpd of crude and 900 million cubic feet of gas. However, the conflict dramatically reduced output, with oil production down 80 per cent and gas by half, according to figures from Wood Mackenzie. Nevertheless, Syria is still home to estimated reserves of 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent, in addition to having vast unexplored onshore areas and an entirely untapped offshore sector. Higher levels of foreign investment could support an accelerated recovery in the oil and gas sector.

In May, Syria announced that it had an offshore site for its first deep-water oil and gas exploration project to be developed by the U.S. major Chevron, Qatar's UCC Holding, and the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC). This supports the government's aim to attract greater foreign investment in Syria's energy sector. Other U.S. oil and gas firms have also expressed interest in Syrian oil and gas projects under the transitional government, opening the door to new investment opportunities.