Syria relies on buried oil and gas in the Mediterranean basin

In 2005, a Norwegian company surveyed Syrian territorial waters, and its report indicated that the Syrian coast, from the Turkish border to the Lebanese border, contained encouraging results regarding oil and gas reserves.

According to an American geological survey firm, there is a prediction that a potential presence of approximately 17 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and 122 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in what is known as the “Levant Basin”.

Syria’s share, or the expected quantity, amounts to approximately 10% of the basin’s total area.

Although Syria is classified as one of the world’s least energy-contributing countries, its oil and gas wells have been a major source of economic support at a time when attention is turning to the Mediterranean Basin.

Experts are pinning their hopes on the country’s rich offshore gas reserves, which will redraw the energy map of an economically weakened country.

After 2011, when the revolution erupted in Syria, the map of control changed with the outbreak of armed conflict.

Fields fell out of Damascus’s control, particularly in the northeast of the country, and fell under the influence of the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF).

The SDF thus gained control of major fields such as the Omar, Tanak, and Jafra fields, as well as the Rmeilan fields in Hasakah and the Koniko field in Deir al Zour.

Amid this climate, preliminary estimates indicate the existence of 40 trillion cubic feet (one cubic meter is approximately 35.3 cubic feet) of undiscovered gas, according to the Washington-based Energy Platform.

This represents a significant step toward redrawing the energy map of the Middle East, especially as countries in the region seek to enhance their energy security and reduce their dependence on imports.

According to Mustafa al Masry, Dean of the Faculty of Petroleum Engineering at the Arab League for Science and Technology, the onshore exploratory, exploration, and development studies in Syria indicate reserves exceeding 15 trillion cubic meters of gas in the fields of the central region and the fields north of Damascus.

“Offshore discoveries in Syrian territorial waters haven’t yet begun, despite the presence of (geological and geochemical) indicators of the presence of gas under the Mediterranean Seabed in Syrian territorial waters… These are indirect indicators,” he added.

“Onshore gas discoveries need to be reconfirmed based on accurate, up-to-date data that reflects the current reality of Syrian gas deposits, in order to invest them scientifically and technically, thus supporting the local market with fuel and the electricity generation sector… This will support the local reconstruction phase”.

Mustafa al Masry believed that the hoped-for gas reserves under Syrian territorial waters need to be discovered and explored.

“If confirmed, Syria, through gas investment, will play an effective regional role by supporting the Arab gas pipeline network and establishing energy projects that meet the needs of the global energy market,” he said.

Syria ranks currently is in 42nd globally in terms of reserves.

According to estimates by the US Geological Survey, reserves amount to 700 billion cubic meters, while gas reserves are estimated at 250 billion cubic meters, representing 1.2 per thousand of the world’s reserves.

The country’s gas demand is estimated at 1,400 tons per day, or about two million cubic meters.

Uses of the material are limited to electricity generation, domestic cooking, and industrial production, according to the State Oil Corporation, which confirmed that daily production reached 12.5 million cubic meters, 79% of which is delivered to the Syrian Ministry of Electricity, 6% to the Ministry of Industry, and 15% to the Ministry of Oil.

Returning to exploratory and exploration studies of subsurface geological structures and formations, geological, geochemical and geophysical studies are carried out on the Earth’s surface, or the surface and seabed, to identify geological formations to detect oil or gas reservoirs.

Exploration wells are drilled to ensure that these formations contain oil or gas.

Then, the exploration well drilling phase begins to determine the horizontal and vertical extension of the reservoir.

Through drilling data, geophysical well measurements and tests conducted on the wells, the discovered geological reserve of oil or gas, or both, can be calculated.

After that, the phase of drilling production development wells begins according to a scenario that ensures the highest return and best economic feasibility.

The Syrian coast, from the Turkish border to the Lebanese border, contained encouraging results regarding oil and gas reserves, with approximately 17 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and 122 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in what is known as the Levant Basin, which is extending from the Syrian coast to Gaza.

Syria’s share, or the expected quantity, amounts to approximately 10% of the total area of ​​the basin, which is considered the second largest region in the world in terms of natural gas resources after Western Siberia.

Following the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2013, Russia attempted to explore for gas in Offshore Block 2, however, despite seven years of attempts, it lacked the equipment and capabilities necessary for deep-sea drilling.

Instead, the Russian company pursued onshore exploration and drilling.

OPEC gas and hydrogen specialist Wael Hamed Abdel Moaty estimated that proven recoverable gas reserves are estimated at approximately 430 billion cubic meters, with preliminary estimates indicating the potential presence of 40 trillion cubic feet of gas offshore.

Speaking to the specialized “Energy Platform,” Abdel Moaty commented, “Syria shares the Levant Basin with other Eastern Mediterranean countries, which contains massive reserves of up to 122 trillion cubic feet of gas”.

Regarding the truth behind the spread of a video showing the discovery of a gas well while drilling a water well, it appeared according to experts that, these images were unscientific and inaccurate, as the water well is no deeper than 300 meters, and at this depth there are no gas reservoirs.

The depth of the gas reservoir exceeds 2,000 meters, as the pressure is very high.