Eastern Mediterranean oil reserves attract world companies to explore Syria’s water
Offshore gas and oil reserves in the eastern Mediterranean extending from south occupied Palestine to north Syria were the main topics discussed in several recent reports without referring to official information on the Syrian shore.
Here, we would explain the relation between explorations in the Palestinian water and Syria’s reserves besides the situation according to the Syrian exploration plan and data.
Following positive results of gas exploration reached between 2009-2012 in the eastern Mediterranean (opposite to the Palestinian and Cypriot shores), foreign companies attached great importance to the Syrian regional water.
According to the results, reserves of gas reached up to 800 billion square meter in five sites.
In 2005, Seismic survey was carried out for the Syrian marine area covering 5000 km. The area was divided into three tectonic blocks: Levantine Basin, Raas al-Basit, and Lattakia Basin.
The good quantity of gas in Syria was discovered in the Levantine Basin that extends from south occupied Palestine to Lattakia in north and Cyprus in west. The area of the basin is around 55.000 square kilometer.
The US Geological Researches Commission has estimated the reserves in Levantine Basin at 1.7 bln oil barrels, 122 trillion cubic foot of gas, and 3bln barrels of gas capacitors.
Syria‘s quota is 300mln oil barrel
The recorded numbers cover the whole basin’s reserves , while Syria’s quota is 5.6% of the total area. Thus, we can say the Syrian part includes 225 mln/m2 of gas, and about 300mln oil barrel and gas capacitors.
Regarding Lattakia and Cyprus Basin, indicators show possibility of getting oil rather than gas after drilling for them in north areas.
Syria’s Oil Ministry followed up the matter to have an idea about Hydro carbonic reserves, and announced a world drilling tender for four blocks of the area 5000km2 in 2007.
The sole tenderer applied was rejected because of dissenting from booklet of conditions.
The decline of oil prices in 2007-2008 to $49/barrel did not encourage world limited companies to apply for the tender.
By the beginning of 2010, a new booklet of conditions was set, and a new drilling tender for three blocks of the area 9000km2 was published on March, 3,2011. But no one applied due to the crisis Syria is going through.
Basma Qaddour