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Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
US firms to develop Syria energy masterplan after Trump lifts sanctions
US-based firms Baker Hughes, Hunt Energy and Argent LNG will develop a masterplan for Syria's oil, gas and power sector, Argent LNG CEO Jonathan Bass said on Friday, in a partnership aimed at rebuilding energy infrastructure shattered by 14 years of civil war. The move marks a swift turnaround as US companies enter a country previously under one of the world's tightest sanctions regimes that US President Donald Trump lifted at the end of June. The companies plan to help explore and extract oil and gas and produce power to help get the economy running as the government seeks to put Syria back on the map. The plan comes after a dash by other companies, many from Gulf Arab states, to sign deals to bolster Syria's power generation and ports infrastructure. Details of the plan have not been previously reported. "We are initiating the development of a comprehensive masterplan for energy and power generation in Syria, based on a preliminary assessment of opportunities for near-term improvements in generation capacity and service delivery," Bass told Reuters via phone. "Our efforts aim to support the revitalisation of the energy sector in coordination with relevant stakeholders," he added. "This includes potential activities across the value chain-from exploration and production to electricity generation, including combined-cycle power plants," he said, declining to elaborate further. Argent LNG, which is developing a liquefied natural gas export facility in Louisiana, in January signed a non-binding agreement to supply Bangladesh up to 5 million metric tons of the fuel annually, the first major US LNG supply deal since Trump began his second term. Reuters received no immediate response to emailed questions to global energy services provider Baker Hughes, while Texas-based oil and gas company Hunt Energy declined comment. The plan is to begin with areas west of the Euphrates River, under control of the Syrian government. Syria's east, where much of its oil is produced, remains controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed and Kurdish-led armed group that Washington has urged to integrate with the new authorities in Damascus following the ouster of former Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad. After 14 years of war, Syria's electricity sector is severely damaged, generating only 1.6 gigawatts of electricity, down from 9.5 GW before 2011. Billions of dollars of investment are needed to fix the sector, so the cash-strapped state is looking at private investment or donors to foot the bill. In May, Syria signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar's UCC Holding to develop $7 billion worth of power generation projects, including four combined-cycle gas turbine power plants and a 1,000-MW solar power plant in southern Syria. 'Growing interest' In a post on LinkedIn on Thursday, Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh said the three US-based companies were forming a coalition to invest in Syria and develop the country's energy sector. "This visit signals a growing interest among American companies and investors in engaging with Syria," he said. Bass, Hunt Energy CEO Hunter L. Hunt, and a senior executive at Baker Hughes arrived in Syria on a private jet on Wednesday morning and were meeting with Barnieh when Israel conducted a series of airstrikes on Damascus that shook the city, Bass said. "It was big," said Bass, who has been working on the energy project since visiting Damascus and meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in April. He was part of both state-led and informal efforts to lobby Trump to meet with Sharaa. The landmark meeting took place in mid-May with a big push from the leaders of Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and Trump announced the end of Syria sanctions. As they are slowly phased out, investor interest in Syria has grown. A week of violence in the southern province of Sweida, however, has darkened the mood in the country and left at least 321 people dead, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, a human rights group. "To work in Syria, there are potholes, there are ditches, it has craters," said Bass. "If you don't have the team that's willing to accept craters, don't come."
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
US firms to develop Syria energy masterplan after Trump lifts sanctions
Find out what's new on ST website and app. US President Donald Trump meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 14, 2025. DAMASCUS - US-based firms Baker Hughes, Hunt Energy and Argent LNG will develop a masterplan for Syria's oil, gas and power sector, Argent LNG CEO Jonathan Bass said on July 18, in a partnership aimed at rebuilding energy infrastructure shattered by 14 years of civil war. The move marks a swift turnaround as US companies enter a country previously under one of the world's tightest sanctions regimes that US President Donald Trump lifted at the end of June . The companies plan to help explore and extract oil and gas and produce power to help get the economy running as the government seeks to put Syria back on the map. The plan comes after a dash by other companies, many from Gulf Arab states, to sign deals to bolster Syria's power generation and ports infrastructure. Details of the plan have not been previously reported. 'We are initiating the development of a comprehensive masterplan for energy and power generation in Syria, based on a preliminary assessment of opportunities for near-term improvements in generation capacity and service delivery,' Mr Bass told Reuters via phone. 'Our efforts aim to support the revitalization of the energy sector in coordination with relevant stakeholders,' he added. 'This includes potential activities across the value chain–from exploration and production to electricity generation, including combined-cycle power plants,' he said, declining to elaborate further. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Critical infrastructure in S'pore under attack by cyber espionage group: Shanmugam Singapore What is UNC3886, the group that attacked Singapore's critical information infrastructure? 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Reuters received no immediate response to emailed questions to global energy services provider Baker Hughes, while Texas-based oil and gas company Hunt Energy declined comment. The plan is to begin with areas west of the Euphrates River, under control of the Syrian government. Syria's east, where much of its oil is produced, remains controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed and Kurdish-led armed group that Washington has urged to integrate with the new authorities in Damascus following the ouster of former Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad. After 14 years of war, Syria's electricity sector is severely damaged, generating only 1.6 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, down from 9.5 GW before 2011. Billions of dollars of investment are needed to fix the sector, so the cash-strapped state is looking at private investment or donors to foot the bill. In May, Syria signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar's UCC Holding to develop US$7 billion (S$9 billion) worth of power generation projects, including four combined-cycle gas turbine power plants and a 1,000-MW solar power plant in southern Syria. 'Growing interest' In a post on LinkedIn on July 17, Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh said the three US-based companies were forming a coalition to invest in Syria and develop the country's energy sector. 'This visit signals a growing interest among American companies and investors in engaging with Syria,' he said. Mr Bass, Hunt Energy CEO Hunter L. Hunt, and a senior executive at Baker Hughes arrived in Syria on a private jet on the morning of July 16 and were meeting with Mr Barnieh when Israel conducted a series of airstrikes on Damascus that shook the city, Mr Bass said. 'It was big,' said Mr Bass, who has been working on the energy project since visiting Damascus and meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in April. He was part of both state-led and informal efforts to lobby Mr Trump to meet with Mr Sharaa. The landmark meeting took place in mid-May with a big push from the leaders of Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and Mr Trump announced the end of Syria sanctions. As they are slowly phased out, investor interest in Syria has grown. A week of violence in the southern province of Sweida, however, has darkened the mood in the country and left at least 321 people dead, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, a human rights group. 'To work in Syria, there are potholes, there are ditches, it has craters,' said Mr Bass. 'If you don't have the team that's willing to accept craters, don't come.' REUTERS
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Syria's future tied to Israel peace deal as billions in investment set to arrive
Some US$20 billion of foreign investment and financial aid is set to pour into Syria over the next few years, kick-starting the reconstruction of the war-torn country after Western sanctions were lifted two months ago. But the desperately needed funds forthcoming from Gulf Arab, Turkish and Western firms remain tied to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's willingness to reach some kind of Washington-backed peace agreement with an antagonistic Israel , according to several Middle East experts who have estimated the sum. While the United States 'backs Syria's government to capitalise on the power vacuum' left by the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime last December, and 'to limit Iran's resurgence, its support for the new Syrian government is clearly tempered by Israel's security concerns,' said Andreas Krieg, an associate professor of defence studies at King's College London. President Donald Trump , who lifted US sanctions against Syria in May following the request of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 'favours transactional alliances and has signalled that deeper US engagement with Syria hinges significantly on how it manages its relations with Israel,' Krieg told This Week in Asia. However, Israel has shown little appetite for compromise with al-Sharaa's administration, despite several rounds of Azerbaijan-hosted talks arranged by the US since April – most recently last week, just before Israeli warplanes bombed Syrian government forces being deployed in southern Syria to stop clashes between local Druze and Bedouin militias on Sunday. In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces had intervened against Syrian forces in the city of Sweida because they were 'in violation' of Israel's imposition since December of a demilitarised zone in southwest Syria.
Yemen Online
7 days ago
- Yemen Online
Iran seizes foreign tanker on fuel smuggling allegations
Iran's judiciary says authorities have seized a vessel smuggling 2 million liters of fuel in the Gulf of Oman. Fuel smuggling is rampant from Iran, where the domestic fuel price is kept low by heavy subsidies. Iranian authorities have seized a foreign tanker in the Gulf of Oman for smuggling 2 million liters (around 528,000 gallons) of fuel, the chief justice of southern Hormozgan province said on Wednesday. The vessel was intercepted "after legal documents related to its cargo were found to be incomplete," said Mojtaba Ghahremani, according to the judiciary's Mizan Online outlet. Fuel smuggling by land to neighbouring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states is a persistent problem for authorities in Iran, where domestic fuel prices are among the lowest in the world owing to heavy subsidies. What has Iran said about the vessel's seizure? Ghahremani said that said that the tanker was detected as part of routine monitoring along the Gulf of Oman. "During the continuous process of monitoring and surveilling suspicious fuel smuggling movements in the Gulf of Oman, officers inspected a foreign tanker due to its lack of legal documents regarding its cargo and seized it on charges of carrying 2 million litres of smuggled fuel," Ghahremani said, according a report carried by the semi-official Mehr news agency. "Seventeen suspects, including the captain and crew of the foreign tanker, have been taken into custody," Ghahremani said, without giving the identity and nationality of those arrested, or the name of the tanker and the flag under which it is registered. He said a judicial case had been opened at the Jask county prosecutor's office. "The actions of fuel smugglers, who in coordination with foreigners, attempt to plunder national wealth will not remain hidden from the judiciary and punishment of perpetrators, if their crimes are proven, will be without leniency," Ghahremani said, according to the report. Other fuel smuggling incidents The Wednesday seizure is not the first time Iranian authorities have taken over tankers whose crew was suspected of smuggling fuel. In April, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two Tanzanian-flagged tankers for alleged fuel smuggling, later transferring the vessels — the Sea Ranger and Salama — to the port of Bushehr for legal proceedings.
Muscat Daily
7 days ago
- Muscat Daily
Iran seizes foreign tanker on fuel smuggling allegations
Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities have seized a foreign tanker in the Gulf of Oman for smuggling two million litres (around 528,000 gallons) of fuel, the chief justice of southern Hormozgan province said on Wednesday. The vessel was intercepted 'after legal documents related to its cargo were found to be incomplete', said Mojtaba Ghahremani, according to the judiciary's Mizan Online outlet. Fuel smuggling by land to neighbouring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states is a persistent problem for authorities in Iran, where domestic fuel prices are among the lowest in the world owing to heavy subsidies. What Iran said about the seizure? Ghahremani said that said that the tanker was detected as part of routine monitoring along the Gulf of Oman. 'During the continuous process of monitoring and surveilling suspicious fuel smuggling movements in the Gulf of Oman, officers inspected a foreign tanker due to its lack of legal documents regarding its cargo and seized it on charges of carrying two million litres of smuggled fuel,' Ghahremani said, according a report carried by the semi-official Mehr news agency. 'Seventeen suspects, including the captain and crew of the foreign tanker, have been taken into custody,' Ghahremani said, without giving the identity and nationality of those arrested, or the name of the tanker and the flag under which it is registered. He said a judicial case had been opened at the Jask county prosecutor's office. 'The actions of fuel smugglers, who in coordination with foreigners, attempt to plunder national wealth will not remain hidden from the judiciary and punishment of perpetrators, if their crimes are proven, will be without leniency,' Ghahremani said, according to the report. Other fuel smuggling incidents The Wednesday seizure is not the first time Iranian authorities have taken over tankers whose crew was suspected of smuggling fuel. In April, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two Tanzanian-flagged tankers for alleged fuel smuggling, later transferring the vessels – the Sea Ranger and Salama – to the port of Bushehr for legal proceedings. The 1.5mn litres of diesel that the ships were alleged to be carrying were reportedly to be returned to the local fuel supply chain after being handed to the National Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company. In November, Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman. DW
