Türkiye to start supplying natural gas from Azerbaijan to Syria

Türkiye will begin supplying natural gas from Azerbaijan to Syria later this week, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced, marking the first such energy transfer since Syria’s civil war began in 2011.

"We will start exporting natural gas from Azerbaijan to Aleppo via Kilis", a province in southernmost Türkiye near the Syrian border, an official said on Wednesday.

The move follows a deal reached in May between Turkish and Syrian officials.

At the time, Syrian Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir said Damascus and Ankara had agreed on natural gas deliveries through a northern pipeline to help meet Syria’s acute energy needs.

Syria’s power grid and infrastructure were decimated during nearly 14 years of conflict. Most regions, including major urban centres, continue to endure electricity cuts lasting over 20 hours a day.

The gas deal comes just months after a new Syrian administration took control following the ouster of Bashar al Assad in December.

The new administration has prioritised rebuilding essential infrastructure and securing fuel supplies.

Gas-rich Azerbaijan is a longstanding ally of Türkiye, which also maintains close ties with Syria’s new administration

Earlier this month, SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state oil company, inked a memorandum of understanding with Syria during President Ahmed al Sharaa’s official visit to Baku.

The agreement, coordinated via Türkiye, is aimed at supplying natural gas to Syria and marks a significant step in Baku’s growing involvement in the country’s economic revival.