Syria, Jordan sign natural gas deal to bolster electricity supply

AMMAN - Syria and Jordan signed an agreement on Monday to supply natural gas to Syria via Jordanian territory, aiming to bolster Syria's fragile electricity grid, officials said.

The deal between the Syrian Petroleum Company and Jordan's National Electric Power Company, which was signed at Syria's Ministry of Energy in Damascus, provides for the delivery of about 4 million cubic metres of gas per day, roughly 140 million cubic feet.

The agreement builds on a broader energy arrangement signed last year to supply gas to Syria through Jordan, which is being financed by Qatar, part of regional efforts to ease Syria's acute power shortages after years of war and infrastructure damage, Syrian and Jordanian officials have said.

Jordan's Energy Minister Saleh al-Kharabsheh was quoted by Syrian state media on Monday as saying deliveries began on January 1, with current volumes ranging between 30 million and 90 million cubic feet per day.

The deal would help Syria diversify its energy supply sources, the country's energy minister Mohamed al-Bashir said.

Supplies are being delivered via the Energos Force regasification vessel, leased from Egypt and docked at Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba until the end of March.

Jordan's National Electric Power Company has started procedures to lease a new floating storage and regasification unit to replace the existing vessel, ensuring a continuous gas supply beyond March, Kharabsheh added.