Syria and Iraq Eager for Cooperation with Iran in Building Joint Gas Pipeline

Baghdad and Damascus are prepared to cooperate with Iran to build a joint pipeline to transfer Iran’s gas supplies to Syria and other Arab states, a Syrian official said.

Syria’s oil minister said that Iran will connect to the Arab Gas Pipeline via Syria and Iraq, which will open a route for the export of Iranian natural gas to Egypt.

“Tehran, Baghdad and Damascus have held talks on the establishment of a 2,000-kilometer (1,242-mile) gas line from Iran to Syria,” Sufian Alao said on Wednesday.

Alao added that 700km of the pipeline runs within the Iranian borders before it stretches another 900km across Iraq with the remaining 400km expanding via the Syrian soil.

“The pipeline in question will meet the needed gas in Iraq and Syria and will facilitate Iranian gas exports to Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt through the Arab Gas Pipeline,” the Syrian official added.

Alao also highlighted Iran’s involvement in the establishment of a joint Syrian-Venezuelan refinery in Alfrekls in the Syrian governorate of Homs.

Iran owns 26 percent of the Alfrekls refinery, which has the capacity of producing 140,000 barrels of oil per day.

The Syrian oil minister said Iran could increase its share of investment in the 4-billion-dollar project which would be a significant step in the expansion of cooperation between the countries in the field of energy.

Iran has the world’s second-largest reserves of natural gas (15% of the world’s total).

Iran possesses roughly 10 percent of the world’s total proven petroleum reserves as well.