Qatar announced a plan to supply Syria with two mn cubic meters of natural gas per day in a bid to bolster Syria’s dwindling power capacity, Syrian state news agency SANA reported on Friday. The plan would boost Syria’s power output by 400 MW and extend the daily energy supply from two to four hours, with plans to gradually ramp up the supply to partially cover the nation’s 6.5 GW power needs.

Finances and logistics: Jordan is slated to receive the gas at the Port of Aqaba and pump the fuel via the Arab Gas Pipeline — whichconnects Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon — conveying it to the Deir Ali power plant in southern Syria, Reuters reported. The plan is “fully funded” by the Qatar Fund for Development, which will also pay Jordan for the costs of transporting the gas through the pipeline in line with an agreement signed with Jordan's Energy Ministry and in partnership with the United Nations Development Program, QNA reported.

Jordan may follow suit with electricity imports, with plans to provide up to 250 MW of electricity during non-peak hours, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

Washington-backed: The US has reportedly greenlit the moves for both Qatar and Jordan, Reuters reported. The US-backing is in line with its decision to temporarily relax sanctions on Syria in January, allowing transactions with government institutions, the oil sector, and personal transfers in Syria for six months.

Syria’s infrastructure is under duress: The Syrian national grid has suffered damage such that it only supplies electricity for two or three hours per day in most areas, Reuters reported. Furthermore, the country still needs a lot of investments to rehabilitate its grid and power plants before they can accommodate the needed hike in energy imports, Reuters reported. The situation is critical, especially after the newly-ascendant administration severed ties with Iran — Syria’s former ally and oil supplier — following President Bashar Al Assad’s ouster.

REMEMBER- KSA + Qatar are urging economic revival: Qatar and Syria inked an MoU to enhance bilateral cooperation in the civil aviation sector one month after Qatar Airways resumed services to Damascus back in January. Meanwhile, Saudi-based Al Jouf Cement Company and Mohammed Shahi Al Ruwaili Contracting inked a SAR 38 mn contract to export cement and clinker goods to Syria. Riyadh urged Western nations to scale down sanctions and allow Syria to begin reconstruction efforts.

And Jordan, too: The Syrian-Jordanian Freezone restarted operations earlier this year following a resumption of agricultural trade between both nations. Late last year, Jordanian trucks began reentering Syria via the Jaber-Nassib border crossing.

Ongoing logistics efforts to restart the economy: Syria’s Transport Minister said that USD 100-200 mn is needed to prop up the country’s current state of transport and logistics operations. The administration plans to develop train tracks with initial speeds of 120 km/hour, new ports with a depth of 17 meters, and is reportedly working on a freezone for used cars at the port of Latakia with a capacity for 5k cars.

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