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Damascus Seeks to Source Gas from Autonomous Administration to Meet its Needs

Rmelan oil field in northeastern Syria near the border with Türkiye (AFP)
Rmelan oil field in northeastern Syria near the border with Türkiye (AFP)
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Damascus Seeks to Source Gas from Autonomous Administration to Meet its Needs

Rmelan oil field in northeastern Syria near the border with Türkiye (AFP)
Rmelan oil field in northeastern Syria near the border with Türkiye (AFP)

Syria has been facing a severe energy crisis since the outbreak of war in 2011. Armed conflicts and Western economic sanctions have led to a significant decline in oil and gas production, resulting in chronic shortages of electricity and fuel.

The oil and gas fields in northeastern Syria, controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Autonomous Administration, have become the primary source of energy for Damascus. This region contains most of Syria’s oil reserves, estimated at approximately 2.5 billion barrels, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Ahmad Al-Suleiman, the media spokesperson for the Syrian Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources, confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Damascus government has decided to source gas from northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the so-called Autonomous Administration.

Al-Suleiman’s statement coincides with announcements from official figures and accounts linked to the SDF and the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), indicating that understandings have been reached with the Damascus government to join the new state led by Ahmad Al-Sharaa.

The agreement entails sourcing approximately 500,000 cubic meters of gas per day, with the exact volume determined by well production and the needs of the power grid. Al-Suleiman stated that the Ministry of Oil is making significant efforts to secure essential gas supplies for power generation plants. He described the agreement with the Autonomous Administration as part of the government’s strategy to address energy crises and ensure the country’s gas needs are met, emphasizing that the goal is to serve the interests of the Syrian people.

News of the agreement sparked widespread debate among Syrians regarding the government’s motives for dealing with the Autonomous Administration, which has yet to fully recognize Damascus’ authority or surrender the resources under its control. Speculation has also risen about the potential political gains the Autonomous Administration may have secured through this deal.

Commenting on these concerns, Al-Suleiman stressed that any agreement remains strictly within an economic framework aimed at serving the Syrian people and meeting their needs. He reiterated that the Syrian government is committed to regaining control over all national resources, stabilizing the country, and ensuring the population’s essential needs are met.

Al-Suleiman noted that energy remains one of the highest priorities for the new Syrian government. He acknowledged the significant difficulties the Ministry of Oil faces in this sector.

He also explained that the ministry is working on comprehensive strategies to secure available energy sources while the leadership negotiates with relevant parties to regain control of oil and gas fields and ensure energy supplies for the population.

The Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources has repeatedly attempted to issue tenders for importing crude oil from outside Syria. However, these efforts have failed due to payment restrictions, as Syrian banks remain under Western sanctions.

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Arab World

Gaza's Christians 'Heartbroken' for Pope Who Phoned them Nightly

A Palestinian woman walks outside the Holy Family Church after the death of Pope Francis was announced by the Vatican, in Gaza City April 21, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian woman walks outside the Holy Family Church after the death of Pope Francis was announced by the Vatican, in Gaza City April 21, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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Gaza's Christians 'Heartbroken' for Pope Who Phoned them Nightly

A Palestinian woman walks outside the Holy Family Church after the death of Pope Francis was announced by the Vatican, in Gaza City April 21, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian woman walks outside the Holy Family Church after the death of Pope Francis was announced by the Vatican, in Gaza City April 21, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Members of Gaza's tiny Christian community said they were "heartbroken" on Monday at the death of Pope Francis, who campaigned for peace for the devastated enclave and spoke to them on the phone every evening throughout the war.

Across the wider Middle East, Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian Christians, both Catholic and Orthodox, praised Francis' constant engagement with them as a source of solace at a time when their communities faced wars, disasters, hardship and persecution.

"We lost a saint who taught us every day how to be brave, how to keep patient and stay strong. We lost a man who fought every day in every direction to protect this small herd of his," George Antone, 44, head of the emergency committee at the Holy Family Church in Gaza, told Reuters.

Francis called the church hours after the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Antone said, the start of what the Vatican News Service would describe as a nightly routine throughout the war. He would make sure to speak not only to the priest but to everyone else in the room, Antone said.

"We are heartbroken because of the death of Pope Francis, but we know that he is leaving behind a church that cares for us and that knows us by name - every single one of us," Antone said, referring to the Christians of Gaza who number in the hundreds.

"He used to tell each one: I am with you, don't be afraid."

Francis phoned a final time on Saturday night, the pastor of the Holy Family parish, Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, told the Vatican News Service.

"He said he was praying for us, he blessed us, and he thanked us for our prayers," Romanelli said.

The next day, in his last public statement on Easter, Francis appealed for peace in Gaza, telling the warring parties to "call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace".

'PEACE IN THIS LAND'

At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, on the site where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected, the superior of the Latin community, Father Stephane Milovitch, said Francis had stood for peace.

"We wish that peace will finally come very soon in this land and we wish the next pope will be able to help to have peace in Jerusalem and in all the world," he said.

In Lebanon, where a war between Israel and Hezbollah caused widespread casualties and extensive damage last year, sending millions from their homes, members of the Catholic Maronite community spoke of Francis' frequent mentions of their plight.

"He's a saint for us because he carried Lebanon and the Middle East in his heart, especially in the last period of war," said a priest in the southern Lebanese town of Rmeish, which was badly damaged during Israel's military campaign last year.

"We always felt he was very involved and he mobilized all the Catholic institutions and funds to help Lebanon throughout the crises that we went through," said Marie-Jo Dib, who works at a social foundation in Lebanon.

"He was a rebel and I really pray that the next pope will be like him," she added.

Francis made repeated trips to the Middle East, including to Iraq in 2021 where he learned that two suicide bombers had attempted to assassinate him in Mosul, a once cosmopolitan city where the ISIS terror group proclaimed a so-called caliphate from 2014-17.

He visited the ruins of four destroyed churches there and launched an appeal for peace.

In Syria, Archbishop Antiba Nicolas said he was holding mass at the historic Damascus Zaitoun church when he was handed a slip of paper with the news.

"He used to say 'dearest Syria' every time he spoke of Syria. He called on all international organisations to support Syria, the Christian presence and the church in Syria during the crisis in the past years," Nicolas said.