Turkey starts first shipments of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Syria

Annual exports may reach two billion cubic metres, generating electricity to power five million homes

Turkey's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, second right, Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov, right, Energy Minister Mohammed Al Bashir, second left, and director general of Qatar Fund for Development Fahad Hamad Hassan Al Sulait, left, at the opening of the Turkey-Syria natural gas pipeline in Kilis, Turkey. AFPShow less

Turkey has started the first shipments of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Syria through the Turkish province of Kilis on Saturday, as Damascus seeks to rebuild war-battered infrastructure and boost power supply.

The initiative will help bolster Syria's energy security, Syrian Energy Minister Mohammad Al Bashir told Syria's state news agency Sana.

The ceremony to mark the start of the gas flow on Saturday was also attended by Azerbaijan's Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov, Turkey's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and official representatives from Qatar.

"The inauguration of the regional gas transmission line linking Syria to Azerbaijan, passing through Turkish territory, is a strategic step on the path to enhancing energy security in Syria, and contributes directly to improving the electrical supply and increasing operating hours in generating stations, which reflects positively on the economic reality and living conditions, and supports the efforts of the displaced to return to their areas," Mr Al Bashir told Sana.

In the first phase of the project, Syria will begin receiving 3.4 million cubic metres of gas daily, which will enable the country to increase energy production by 750 megawatts, he added.

Crescent Petroleum 'certainly interested' in potential Syria projects

00:37

Ankara, which supported rebel forces in neighbouring Syria throughout the 13-year civil war that ended in December with the ousting of former president Bashar Al Assad, has now become one of the current Syrian government's main foreign allies while positioning itself as a major player in Syria's reconstruction.

Syria is suffering from severe power shortages, with state-supplied electricity available for only for a few hours a day in most areas. Damascus used to receive the bulk of its oil for power generation from Iran before Hayat Tahrir Al Sham took power in December.

Gas that will come from Azerbaijan will be exported to Aleppo via Kilis. Qatar will finance part of the project.

Mr Bayraktar told the state-owned Anadolu news agency on Saturday that up to 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas can be exported annually to Syria, generating electricity to power five million households.

Electricity exports to Syria currently flow through eight different points, with capacity set to increase by 25 per cent initially and then more than double, the Turkish energy minister said.

Addressing the event, Mr Jabbarov said that the export of Azerbaijani gas from Turkey to Syria was launched in a short period of time based on the agreements reached during the meetings between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Syrian Transitional President Ahmed Al-Sharaa on April 11 in Antalya and July 12 in Baku, the Azerbaijan state news agency Azertac reported on Saturday.