Syria keen on importing Iran’s gas

Syria’s Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources Sufian Allaw says that Tehran and Damascus are to discuss Syrian gas imports from Iran.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi in Damascus on Wednesday, Allaw described relations between Syrian and Iran, especially in the oil and gas sectors, as favorable.

“We want to discuss issues in the fields of refinery and training of our technical staff during this visit,” he added.

Allaw said that transfer of Iran’s gas to Syria and the Mediterranean Sea via Iraq will be discussed during Mirkazemi’s visit to Syria.

“We also want to discuss the transfer of three million cubic meters per day of Iran’s gas to Syria via Turkey. It will gradually increase to nine million cubic meters per day by 2011,” he added.

“We are going to equip our industrial cities and factories with gas lines.”

Mirkazemi, for his part, said that Iran and Syria have many things in common, especially in cultural, intellectual and social affairs.

“Iran and Syria have the potential to increase the level of their economic, trade and energy ties,” he added.

Asked about the chances that the price of oil might exceed USD 100 per barrel, Mirkazemi said that the price of oil depends on global demand, economic growth, financial crisis, weather conditions, and the value of the dollar.

“Financial crisis is rooted in the performance of some countries like the US. We have been witnessing similar crises since 1935. They might be repeated in the future,” he added.