Natural gas begins flowing from Azerbaijan to Syria via Turkey

BAKU / DARAMSUQ (DAMASCUS) — In a marked shift in Syrian diplomacy since President Ahmad al-Sharaa assumed office last December, a series of strategic developments is reshaping the country’s international engagements. This surge coincided with a visit by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Defense Minister Marhaf Abu Qasra to Moscow, where they discussed ways to strengthen cooperation and support based on mutual respect—moving away from the previous model of guardianship in exchange for protection under the former Syrian regime 

Under a trilateral deal involving Azerbaijan’s national oil company SOCAR and Syria’s Ministry of Energy, brokered directly by the two governments and with Qatari mediation, Azerbaijan has officially begun supplying natural gas to Syria through Turkey. The gas is transported via the Turkish-Syrian pipeline, crossing through Kilis—an infrastructure project Turkey had long hoped to activate but which remained dormant due to political tensions with the previous Syrian administration under Bashar al-Assad. 

The inauguration of the gas flow was attended by Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Syrian Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir, Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov, and Fahad Hamad al-Sulaiti, head of the Qatar Fund for Development. 

Minister Bayraktar described the project as a symbol of Turkish-Syrian friendship in the energy sector, noting that the goal is to secure stable supplies of gas and electricity for Syria and contribute to its reconstruction efforts. 

According to Bayraktar, the pipeline stretches 93 kilometers with a diameter of 36 inches, from Turkoglu in Kahramanmaras to a measurement station in the village of Yavuzlu in Kilis, built in coordination between Turkey’s BOTAS and Syria’s state gas company. The infrastructure is capable of transporting up to two billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas annually, marking the project as a strategic milestone. 

Initially, six million cubic meters of gas will be delivered daily to Syria, routed through Holeb (Aleppo) and then to Hmoth (Homs), where it will power electricity plants. This is expected to generate 1,200 megawatts of electricity—enough to meet the needs of approximately five million Syrian households. 

Turkey also plans to boost the pipeline’s export capacity by 25% in the first phase, with a long-term goal of increasing output by up to 860 megawatts, potentially supplying electricity to an additional 1.5 million homes.