In a significant step aimed at alleviating Syria's severe energy crisis, the Syrian and Jordanian governments signed a formal agreement on Monday for the sale and purchase of natural gas. Under this agreement, Syria will receive Egyptian gas via Jordanian territory, offering a glimmer of hope for reviving its ailing electricity sector and supporting power plants suffering from critical fuel shortages.
Historical background and context of the crisis
This agreement comes as Syria has been suffering from a severe electricity crisis for years, exacerbated by the war that began in 2011. The war has destroyed much of the energy sector's infrastructure, including power plants, transmission lines, and distribution networks, in addition to many oil and gas fields falling outside government control. This has resulted in near-constant power outages in most areas, negatively impacting all aspects of daily life for citizens, from healthcare and education to industrial and commercial activities.
Reviving the Arab Gas Pipeline Project
This agreement is based on reviving the Arab Gas Pipeline, a strategic regional project launched in the early 2000s to connect Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon with a unified gas network. The project ceased operations entirely with regard to Syria and Lebanon after 2011 due to the security situation. This agreement is considered a first step towards reactivating this vital energy artery in the region, which will not only benefit Syria but also pave the way for a broader project aimed at supplying Lebanon with electricity from Jordan and gas from Egypt via Syrian territory.
The importance of the agreement and its expected impact
The agreement is expected to have tangible positive effects both domestically and regionally. Domestically, the daily supply of approximately 4 million cubic meters of natural gas will directly contribute to increasing the operational capacity of Syrian power plants, thereby improving the stability of the electricity grid and reducing the long hours of power rationing. Regionally, the agreement signals the beginning of Syria's return to its Arab sphere and the normalization of relations with neighboring countries such as Jordan and Egypt. It also reflects a shift in the geopolitical dynamics of the region, especially given the implicit support this project enjoys from the United States, which has provided assurances to participating countries that they will not be subject to the sanctions imposed on Damascus under the Caesar Act.
The agreement was signed on the Jordanian side by the Director General of the National Electricity Company, Dr. Sufian Al-Batayneh, and on the Syrian side by the Deputy Executive President of the Syrian Petroleum Company, Engineer Hisham Al-Saleh, thus formalizing this cooperation, which is seen as a key step towards stabilizing the energy sector in Syria and the region.
