Memorandum of Understanding with QatarEnergy to Explore Oil and Gas in Latakia
QatarEnergy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TotalEnergies, ConocoPhillips and the Syrian Petroleum Company (SAPC) to collaborate on oil and gas exploration off the coast of Syria.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, May 12, QatarEnergy said that the MoU includes a technical review by the partners to assess the potential of Maritime Area 3 off the Syrian coast, and sets the framework for further technical and commercial discussions between the parties.
Area 3 is located within the Levant Marine Basin in the eastern waters of the Mediterranean Sea off the city of Latakia, where water depths range from 100 to 1,700 meters.
During the signing ceremony in Doha, Qatari Minister of Energy Saad Al-Kaabi said the MoU "reflects the continued implementation of QatarEnergy's strategy for international growth, and its efforts to explore business development opportunities in the oil and gas sector in the region and around the world," according to the statement.
Al-Kaabi expressed his country's happiness to cooperate with Syrian Petroleum in exploring possibilities and opportunities that would support the growth and prosperity of the Syrian people and the Syrian Republic, noting that Doha looks forward to working with France's TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips and all concerned parties to "evaluate this opportunity."
Official statistics
According to official statistics, Syria's proven gas reserves amount to about 8.5 trillion cubic feet, while the average daily production of non-oil gas reaches about 250 million cubic meters, equivalent to 58% of the country's total gas production, while the oil associated gas accounts for 28%, most of which comes from the east of the Euphrates River.
Today's MoU marks an important return for TotalEnergies, which suspended operations in Syria in 2011 due to European sanctions (most of which have been lifted since 2025), and comes a day after the Syrian Petroleum Company announced the start of its first deepwater exploration project in cooperation with the American company Chevron and UCC Holdings.
Investment alliance with American Chevron and Qatari UCC Holding
On Monday , May 11, 2026, the Syrian Petroleum Company announced a project led by the American company Chevron in partnership with the Qatari UCC Holding Company as part of an investment alliance after the completion of the determination of the target marine location.
Actual technical operations are scheduled to begin in the summer of 2026, making the project the first direct U.S. entry into Syria's energy sector in more than a decade, as part of broader efforts to attract foreign investment following the country's political transitions at the end of 2024.
The Syrian offshore area is located within the Levantine Basin, one of the world's richest hydrocarbon geological basins, where the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that there may be about 122 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered gas in the entire basin, of which Syria's geological share is estimated at about 10%.
Other preliminary estimates suggest that up to 40 trillion cubic feet of gas could be found off the Syrian coast, a figure that could bring about a major economic transformation if commercially viable, and exploration in Offshore Area 3 — which is currently being studied by QatarEnergy and Total — requires advanced deepwater drilling techniques, ranging from 100 to 1 deep. 700 meters, making it one of the most technically complex areas in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Economically, the development of these fields is expected to contribute to filling the large domestic shortfall in gas needed to operate power plants, in addition to achieving financial returns that may reach $8 billion annually according to economic estimates, with the possibility of starting actual production by 2030 if the plans go unhindered.