Al-Baath: Syriann international competition for 700 million dollar gas project

International oil companies including the French Total company and an American company are competing to win a gas project in the center of Syria at a total value of 700 million dollars.

News reports quoted one official in a foreign company saying yesterday that the Total company ( France ) Somitomo ( Japan) and a consortium including in particular PetroCanada ( Canada ), Occidental ( the US ) proposed their bids to "develop gas fields in the central area of Syria."

The Syrian daily al-Baath said in its yesterday's issue that the ministry of oil and mineral resources stressed "three international companies are now competing to win a contract to take part in the production for the development and investment of gas fields in northern and southern part of the central area of Syria." The paper added "the project was described as the most important among the gas projects in Syria where some 15 gas fields will be developed at a reserve estimated at 100 billion cubic meters of gas.

The paper explained that the project's revenues are expected to be 3 billion dollars during the period of the contract which is expected to be finalized between the Syrian company and the winning company. The Syrian Petroleum company signed on May 31 a contract for oil exploration with the two American Devon Energy and Gulf Sands Petroleum for 25 years. The two contracts are on the fields of al-Qamishli area. Last week the American Veritas company won a contract for oil exploration in the Syrian territorial waters.