1 June — In the context of the past few years, Syria has enjoyed a dramatic surge in gas output in the past 18 months. Between 1999 and 2009, gas production fluctuated between 5.0 and 6.4 bcm/y, but according to an announcement in January 2011 by the government-run Syrian Arab News Agency, production hit 10.1 bcm in 2010, a 74% increase year on year. The Syrian energy ministry expects production to increase to more than 13 bcm in 2011.
Demand has risen dramatically, too. According to forecasts from the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies (OIES), Syrian gas demand is set to increase from 6 bcm in 2008 to 16 bcm in 2015, outstripping supply by an estimated 3 bcm.
The bulk of the demand will come from an increased call for electricity generation. The Syrian energy ministry has stated that local electricity demand will double by 2025 and triple by 2030, from 44.5 million kilowatt-hours in 2009. According to the World Bank, Syria will need to add a total of 7,000MW of new capacity by 2020 to keep pace with demand growth of 7% a year…