Azerbaijan will export 1.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year to Syria from the BP-operated Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea, a senior official at state energy company SOCAR told Reuters on Saturday.
SOCAR Vice President Elshad Nasirov spoke in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border, as Turkey and Azerbaijan marked the start of deliveries at a ceremony in Kilis attended by ministers and other officials from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Syria and Qatar.
Azerbaijan’s economy minister, Mikayil Jabbarov, said the project followed agreements in April and July between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Syria’s transitional president, Ahmad al-Sharaa. The gas will be transported through Turkish territory under a coordinated arrangement, he said.
“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,” Jabbarov said.
Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said deliveries were expected to reach about 6 million cubic meters per day, with the potential to rise to 2 billion cubic meters annually in the first phase. He said the gas would be used to restart Syrian power plants with a combined capacity of 1,200 megawatts.
Turkey, which backed rebel forces in Syria during the 13-year civil war that ended in December with the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, has emerged as one of the new Syrian government’s main foreign allies while positioning itself to play a major role in the country’s reconstruction.
Syrian Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir said the supplies would help meet basic energy needs in areas affected by conflict.