Chevron and Qatar’s UCC Holding prepare for Syria’s first offshore drilling project

Chevron and Qatar’s UCC Holding have begun preparations for offshore drilling operations in Syrian waters after Damascus opened the country’s energy sector to foreign investment following the change in government in the capital.

The Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) announced that an offshore block has been designated for the country’s first deepwater oil and natural gas exploration project in the Mediterranean. The project will be carried out in partnership with US-based Chevron and Qatar-based UCC Holding.

The designated block is expected to allow Chevron to complete the contracting process with SPC and begin technical operations during the summer months. The project is being viewed as the start of a new phase in Syria’s energy strategy.

Drilling preparations to begin in summer

Chevron, SPC and UCC Holding signed a preliminary agreement in February to assess oil and natural gas potential in Syrian territorial waters.

SPC Chief Executive Yusuf Kabalavi described the partnership as the most significant offshore energy agreement in Syria’s history. Kabalavi said the aim was to move into the mobilization and drilling phase before the summer season.

He also cautioned that gaining full access to natural gas reserves could take up to four years.

The project will mark Chevron’s first operation in Syrian waters. The company is already an operator at the Leviathan natural gas field in the eastern Mediterranean.

The overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s government after 14 years of war paved the way for US and Gulf-based companies to enter Syria’s energy sector.

The government led by Ahmed Shara, which took power in Damascus in December 2024, is reported to have strengthened its control over oil fields with the backing of the US, Israel, Türkiye and Gulf countries.

Before the outbreak of Syria’s civil war in 2011, the oil sector was one of the main pillars of the country’s economy.

At the time, Syria had the capacity to produce an average of 380,000 barrels of oil per day. The country exported roughly $3 billion worth of oil annually, most of it to Europe.

Oil revenues accounted for about 25% of the state budget before the war.

Syria’s oil infrastructure suffered extensive damage during the civil war, while oil fields fell under the control of various armed groups.

Some fields seized by the Nusra Front in 2013 were later taken over by Islamic State. Control of those areas subsequently passed to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

As of January 2026, control over energy resources returned to the Damascus-based government after forces loyal to Ahmed Shara established dominance in strategic regions including Raqqa and Deir al-Zor.

The new administration aims to turn oil and natural gas revenues into one of the main sources of financing for the country’s reconstruction.