Syria suffers from power shortages, grid damage

14/3/2025 6:12

Qatar is set to provide

Syria with gas via Jordan to improve the nation's meagre

electricity supply and boost Syria's new rulers, according to

three people familiar with the matter, in a move that a U.S.

official said had Washington's approval.



It would be the most significant tangible support for the

new administration in Damascus by Qatar, one of the region's

sternest opponents of the now-deposed Bashar al-Assad and

strongest backers of the rebels-turned rulers who replaced him.



A U.S. official said the gas deal had a nod of approval from

President Donald Trump's administration without saying how this

was communicated.



Qatar's state news agency later said an agreement had been

signed between Qatar's development fund and Jordan's energy

ministry to provide Damascus with "an approved supply of natural

gas" via Jordan to help address Syria's electricity shortage,

without mentioning Syria's new rulers or Washington.



Qatar's fund will provide Jordan's energy ministry with

a grant to supply Syria with the gas, the fund told Reuters in

an email.



Jordanian energy minister Saleh al-Kharabsheh told

Jordan's state news agency the initiative would be fully funded

by Qatar's fund.



The gas will be received at Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba

and pumped to Syria via the Arab Gas Pipeline, Jordanian energy

minister al-Kharabsheh said.



A segment of the pipeline runs from Aquaba north across

Jordan to Syria.



The U.S. green light and efforts to encourage a deal between

Kurdish forces in Syria's north and Damascus suggest the U.S.

remains actively engaged in Syria, despite Washington moving

more cautiously than European states to ease sanctions.



The gas would be transferred from Jordan via a pipeline to

the Deir Ali power plant in southern Syria, two of the sources

said.



The move will initially boost the Deir Ali power plant's

output by 400 megawatts per day, an amount that would "gradually

increase", according to the Qatari fund's statement.



Estimates of Syria's recent power capacity range up to

around 4,000 MW.



The U.S. State Department and Qatar's foreign ministry did

not respond to emailed requests for comment.







JORDAN POWER SUPPLY



Syria suffers from severe power shortages, with

state-supplied electricity available just two or three hours a

day in most areas. Damage to the electricity grid means that

generating or supplying more power is only part of the problem.



Damascus used to receive the bulk of its oil for power

generation from Iran, but supplies have been cut off since

Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led the ouster of Tehran-allied

former president Assad in December.



The interim government has pledged to quickly ramp up power

supply, partly by importing electricity from Jordan and using

floating power barges that have yet to arrive.



According to two further sources with knowledge of the

matter, Jordan has received U.S. approval to move forward with

the supply of up to 250 MW of electricity during non-peak hours.



However, Syria still needs to make fixes to its electricity

grid and solve other technical issues before the supply,

expected at around 250 megawatts during non-peak hours, can

begin, the sources said.



"The internal network in Syria is not yet ready to receive

this and needs a significant amount of work. Additionally, some

matters are still unclear about financing of the agreement,"

said Ibrahim Seif, a former Jordanian minister of energy and

mineral resources.



U.S. and Jordanian officials did not respond to requests for

comment on the plan.







WAIVER UNCERTAINTY



A Western diplomat briefed on the Qatari gas plan said it

came as part of an effort by Doha to follow up political backing

from Gulf Arab states including Saudi Arabia and Qatar with

tangible help to support Syria's new rulers.



"They are very keen to finally give something, even if it

won't make a huge difference," the diplomat said.



Gulf backing has largely not been matched by official,

tangible assistance due to U.S. sanctions on Syria, despite a

waiver issued in January that allowed for some transactions,

including on energy.



But the exemption did not remove any sanctions, and states

and entities looking to engage with Syria have sought additional

guarantees.



Reuters reported last month that Qatar was holding off

providing Syria's new rulers with funds to increase public

sector pay due to uncertainty over whether the transfers would

breach U.S. sanctions.