Syria has launched a gas field development project with Saudi firm ADES in the central province of Homs, with output targets of 50 percent growth by mid-2027 to ease the country’s chronic power shortages. The handover on July 4 activates an implementation agreement signed April 5 between state-run Syrian Petroleum Company and ADES Holding, marking the latest Gulf capital to flow into Syria’s post-war energy sector alongside commitments from Qatar and the UAE.
Syria Hands Homs Gas Fields to Saudi ADES
Syria’s Syrian Petroleum Company has formally handed over gas field sites in the central province of Homs to Saudi-based ADES Holding, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported Friday. The handover activates an implementation agreement signed April 5 between SPC and ADES, a major Saudi drilling services provider with extensive regional operations. The agreement was reached after months of planning that began with broader energy talks between Damascus and Gulf states. Energetica India, citing local reports, said work has now commenced on the ground.
The agreement covers a broad package of technical services: maintenance and development of existing wells, rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure in targeted fields, and the drilling of new exploratory wells aimed at unlocking untapped reserves in the central region, particularly around Homs. SPC’s Safwan Ahmad, the firm’s director of institutional communications, described the ADES agreement in April as more than a technical services deal. He called it a strategic turning point in Syria’s effort to widen its production horizons.
The deal follows a year of Gulf-backed agreements across Syria’s energy sector. ADES is now the operational arm of Saudi Arabia’s push, with field work underway in Homs.
The Production Targets ADES Has Signed Up To
The deal sets two formal milestones for the targeted fields. Output is to rise by 25 percent within the first six months, and by 50 percent by the middle of 2027. The package covers a defined set of fields in the Homs area.
The figures appear in the SPC announcement, reported by the Syrian Arab News Agency and republished by regional outlets including Energetica India and Al-Monitor. The package lifts total output from the included fields to around 4 million cubic metres of natural gas per day. The deal fits within a wider push by Gulf states into Syria’s energy sector, with Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia all active on separate tracks. The SPC figures cover only the fields included in the deal. The agreed production targets are listed below.
- April 5, 2026 implementation agreement signed in Damascus
- 25 percent output rise within the first six months
- 50 percent total output rise by mid-2027
Where the Extra Gas Is Headed
The new volumes are earmarked for power plants. The additional gas is expected to be used primarily for electricity generation, helping ease Syria’s chronic power shortages. The country’s grid has run far below pre-war capacity for more than a decade.
SPC framed the deal as a vehicle for capacity building, with technology transfer and training at its core. Walid al-Youssef, the state firm’s Deputy Executive Director for Exploration and Production, said the partnership includes technology transfer and training programmes for Syrian engineers and technical staff.
The partnership also includes technology transfer and training programmes for Syrian engineers and technical staff to strengthen the country’s gas industry.
SPC’s Safwan Ahmad, in April remarks, called the contract a strategic turning point for Syria’s effort to widen its production horizons. The deal also commits ADES to drill new exploratory wells in the central region, Levant24 reported. The new wells target reserves that have sat underdeveloped through the war years. Levant24’s reporting on the April signing covers the broader technical scope.
The Demand-Supply Gap ADES Faces
The numbers on the demand side are stark. Government officials estimate Syria’s natural gas demand at around 23 million cubic metres per day, against current domestic production of 7-8 million cubic metres per day and well below pre-war levels of nearly 22 million cubic metres per day, Al-Monitor reported, citing oilprice.com data.
The ADES deal lifts output from the package to around 4 million cubic metres a day at the 50 percent target. Domestic gas demand sits at around 23 million cubic metres a day, against current production of 7-8 million cubic metres a day. Pre-war production was nearly 22 million cubic metres a day. Underneath the gap sit the country’s resource reserves, with Syria estimated to hold approximately 2.5 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves and 8.5-9 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves. The gas in the ground is not the constraint; reaching it, refining it, and routing it to power plants has been.
A Coordinated Gulf Wager on Syrian Energy
The ADES handover is the most visible piece of a much larger regional push. Gulf states have signed a steady drumbeat of deals with Damascus since the political transition of late 2024. Gas sits at the centre of the wager, and the biggest single package is with Qatar. The push began in 2025 and has not slowed.
In May 2025, a consortium led by Qatar-based UCC Holding signed a USD 7 billion agreement to construct four combined-cycle gas-fired power plants in the governorates of Aleppo, Deir Ezzor and Hama, with a combined capacity of around 4 GW, along with a 1 GW solar project in the south. The deal aims to help restore Syria’s electricity network, which was severely damaged in the 13-year civil war that began in 2011.
The Gulf push has unfolded in steps. Energy has been the centre of gravity in every package signed since 2025. A timeline of the major announcements:
- May 2025: Qatar-led UCC Holding consortium signs an energy deal.
- July 2025: Saudi Arabia and Syria sign a memorandum of understanding.
- November 2025: UAE-based Dana Gas signs an MoU with the Syrian government.
- December 2025: Multiple Saudi energy firms sign agreements with SPC.
- April 5, 2026: SPC and ADES Holding sign the implementation agreement.
- July 4, 2026: Project sites are formally handed over to ADES.
Saudi Arabia followed the diplomatic track with capital. ADES, a Saudi drilling services company with regional operations, is now the operational face of that capital on Syrian soil. International oil majors have opened discussions as well. Levant24 reports that recent agreements and memorandums have involved companies including Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Dana Gas, Eni and BP, alongside ongoing talks with additional regional and global firms. None of those Western firms have publicly committed to a production deal on the ADES scale, and several remain in technical evaluation.
A Sector Reopening After Assad
The wave of deals follows the political transition of December 2024, when Islamist rebel forces removed President Bashar al-Assad after 13 years of civil war. The new government, under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, has pitched Syria as an investment destination as Western sanctions have been gradually lifted over the past year. Energy has emerged as the front line of that pitch.
Alongside the Gulf capital, international oil and gas companies have moved into the conversation, even where their deals remain in evaluation. Here is who has shown up so far:
| Company | Country | Role |
|---|---|---|
| ADES Holding | Saudi Arabia | Central-field gas developer under SPC contract |
| UCC Holding (consortium) | Qatar | Power generation consortium in Syria |
| Dana Gas | UAE | Gas field redevelopment evaluator |
| Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Eni, BP | United States, Italy, UK | International oil and gas majors engaged in talks |
The table mixes committed capital (UCC, ADES) with companies still in MoU or evaluation (Dana Gas, the majors). That mix reflects where Syria’s energy sector actually sits. A regulatory framework is being rebuilt alongside the field operations themselves.
Where the Deal Could Slip
The production targets rest on a set of assumptions that the deal itself does not control. Syria’s gas fields require drilling rigs, functional processing infrastructure, secure access, and a payments system that survives Western banking restrictions. The country also lacks the trained technical workforce that the deal is meant to help rebuild. ADES will be on the ground running field operations in the early phases.
The training and technology transfer programmes Walid al-Youssef described will only pay off over years. A Syrian village’s 20-cent monthly power bill shows how thin the margin can be at the household level. For now, the ADES handover sets a measurable test: 25 percent within six months, 50 percent by mid-2027.
