Syria and Chevron Offshore Exploration: Timeline From Memorandum to Contract Talks

Project Status

On 23 June 2026, Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) CEO Yusuf Qablawi met a Chevron delegation to discuss steps for converting the memorandum of understanding on offshore exploration in Block No. (1) into an executive contract, SANA reported. Citing the company's Telegram channel, SANA added that the meeting covered a possible role for Chevron as a strategic partner in the Kirkuk–Baniyas pipeline for Iraqi oil across Syria.

As of 23 June 2026, no executive contract had been announced.

Timeline

• 4 February 2026: SPC signed a memorandum of understanding with Chevron International and Power International Holding at the People's Palace in Damascus. A Chevron spokesperson described it as a preliminary agreement to assess offshore oil and gas exploration, according to Al Jazeera. US envoy Tom Barrack and Qatar's ambassador Khalifa bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud attended, SANA said.
• 6 February 2026: SPC's corporate communication director Safwan Sheikh Ahmad said technical studies were expected to begin within two months and that the memorandum could become an executive agreement within up to eight months if technical and economic indicators were positive. He said Syria has five offshore exploration blocks from Tartous to Latakia and one would be the scope of joint work.
• 10 April 2026: Qablawi announced on Facebook that SPC had received official confirmation from Chevron to proceed and that the target offshore site had been identified with Chevron and UCC, SANA reported.
• 11 May 2026: SPC said it had received formal notice from Chevron to start procedures with UCC Holding, paving the way for contracts and technical operations in summer 2026. The company called the project Syria's first deep-water offshore exploration operation.
• 23 June 2026: the meeting described above.

The Parties

SPC is the state-owned signatory, and its later statements name UCC Holding as a partner. SANA describes UCC Holding as Qatari-based and reported in November 2025 that a UCC-led consortium signed agreements with the Energy Ministry for four power plants totalling 5,000 megawatts. Al Jazeera says UCC is part of Power International Holding.

Stated Aims and Timelines

Sheikh Ahmad said the project would bring advanced offshore-exploration expertise, build national technical capacity and support energy security, and that stages up to a potential gas discovery could take three to four years if an agreement is signed. At the signing, Qablawi said work at sea would begin before summer and full implementation could take about four years. These are official statements and expectations, not confirmed outcomes.

Al Jazeera notes that Syria's coast lies in the eastern Mediterranean, where major gas discoveries have been made in Egypt and Israel, while most Syrian oil comes from onshore fields in the northeast, such as Omar. SANA's reports do not give the block's boundaries or coordinates.