ISTANBUL
Türkiye will begin supplying Syria with natural gas and electricity in a large-scale energy export effort aimed at helping restore power infrastructure in the war-ravaged country, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced late Thursday.
Speaking to CNN Turk, Bayraktar said Türkiye plans to deliver 6 million cubic meters (mcm) of natural gas per day—equivalent to 2 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually—over the next three months. The gas will be transported via pipeline from Türkiye’s southeastern Kilis province to a power plant in Aleppo, northwestern Syria, to generate electricity.
“We have made rapid progress in Syria because our natural gas line has already extended to Kilis, near the Syrian border,” Bayraktar said. “We will effectively be supplying fuel to the gas power plants there.”
In addition to gas, Türkiye is also exporting electricity directly to northern Syria. Bayraktar said the country currently provides about 200 megawatts (MW) of electricity to Aleppo and plans to increase that figure significantly.
"We plan to increase this by an additional 500 megawatts, aiming to reach between 700 and 800 megawatts of electricity exports in the coming months," he explained.
Infrastructure collapse and urgent energy demand
Bayraktar highlighted the dire state of Syria’s energy infrastructure following 13 years of war. He noted that Syria’s newly appointed Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir recently made his first official visit abroad to Türkiye and emphasized the country’s acute electricity shortage.
"During our bilateral meeting, the minister told me, 'I need 10,000 megawatts for Syria, but I can only generate 1,700 megawatts at the moment,'" Bayraktar said.
With most centralized systems destroyed, Syrians have resorted to small-scale solutions to power their homes and businesses. “Wherever you go in Syria today, you'll see generators in front of every home. People are trying to generate power in a mobile way,” he added. “So, our contribution is significant.”
“Syria's oil, gas and mineral resources must quickly be brought into the economy to meet its needs,” he said, adding that Türkiye’s role in energy exports can be a stabilizing factor in the region.