Syria's oil and gas production is expected to begin recovering this year after the central government regained control of major energy assets in the country's northeast, research firm Wood Mackenzie said on Wednesday.

The infrastructure, which was reclaimed under a cease-fire agreement with Kurdish-led forces, includes the al-Omar oilfield--the country's largest--and the Tabiyeh natural gas field.

Before the 2011 civil war, Syria was producing about 380,000 b/d of oil and about 900 MMcf/d of natural gas. But by 2021, the country's oil output had plunged to between 50,000 and 80,000 b/d and gas production fell by half.

Wood Mackenzie said it expects Syrian oil output to begin rising this year, driven initially by low-cost workovers, artificial lift upgrades and surface facility repairs, with increase output dependent on foreign investment, technology transfer and access to export routes.

While infrastructure and political risks remain, "unified governance, sanctions relief and early foreign engagement lay the groundwork for a gradual upstream recovery," Alexandre Arman, director for Middle East Upstream at Wood Mackenzie, said.

Arman added that Syria's resource base, strong domestic natural gas demand and persistent power shortages make selective re-entry attractive, with operators likely to focus first on natural gas before expanding into oil as export routes are restored.

Several international oil companies have already signed agreements to return, including Dana Gas, ConocoPhillips and Novaterra for field redevelopment, while Saudi energy and services firms TAQA, ADES, Arabian Drilling and Arabian Geophysical and Surveying have signed technical support agreements. Meanwhile, Shell has formally requested to withdraw from the al-Omar field and transfer its stake to the state.

Wood Mackenzie estimates Syria has at least 1.3 billion boe in remaining discovered resources, with large areas still underexplored and the offshore sector untapped.

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Reporting by Allegra Fradkin, afradkin@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeffrey Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 21, 2026 15:41 ET (20:41 GMT)

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