Chevron Signs Deal to Explore Offshore Oil and Gas in Syria

Chevron signed an initial agreement with Syria’s state-owned oil company to explore the development of the country’s first offshore oil and gas field, Syrian state media reported. The deal is part of a government push to reinvigorate an energy sector weakened by years of conflict.

The memorandum of understanding was signed at the presidential palace in Damascus by Chevron, the Syrian Petroleum Company and Qatari firm Power International Holding, and the U.S. special envoy for Syria, Thomas J. Barrack Jr, was reported to be present. Youssef Qiblawi, director of the Syrian Petroleum Company, called it "the most important agreement in Syria’s energy sector," according to local media.

Before the 2011 civil war, Syria produced enough oil to meet its own needs and generated a substantial share of state revenue, the E.I.A. has said.

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