A gas pipeline between Al-Shoula and Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria exploded on
Monday night after a sectional valve was deliberately damaged, sparking a fire
and cutting flows to a nearby power plant, Syrian state media said. Officials
said gas from the Al-Jabsah field can no longer be delivered to the plant. The
outage comes amid rising domestic fuel prices and public unrest; Energy Minister
Mohammed Bashir said civil war damage has reduced Syria’s daily gas output from
about 30 mln m3/d pre-2011 to 8.5 mln m3/d, while domestic demand is roughly
22–25 mln m3/d. In June Damascus signed a contract with ConocoPhillips to
develop the country’s gas sector to attract investment and support
reconstruction.
