Explosion Caused by "Sabotage" Strikes Gas Lines in Eastern Syria

An explosion caused by “an act of sabotage” targeting a gas pipeline in eastern Syria led to a halt in gas supplies to power plants, according to the Syrian official news agency SANA, in an early Tuesday report.

The agency stated that a fire broke out on Monday evening “in a gas pipeline between the Shula and Deir ez-Zor areas due to the explosion of a cut-off valve in the line as a result of a sabotage act.”

SANA quoted Hisham al-Saleh, the gas sector official at the Syrian Petroleum Company, as saying that the fire led to “the cessation of gas pumping from the Jubsa plant to the power generation stations.”

The area stretching between Shula and Deir ez-Zor includes facilities and pipelines related to gas transportation and production.

This comes after protests swept through Syria in mid-September in protest of rising fuel prices, which authorities linked to higher prices in global energy markets amid the ongoing war in the region.

Years of war have devastated Syria’s oil, gas, and electricity generation sectors, leaving the country heavily reliant on imports to meet its needs for petroleum products, while the nation’s energy infrastructure remains dilapidated due to more than a decade of neglect.

Before the conflict erupted in 2011, Syria produced 30 million cubic meters of gas daily for electricity generation, whereas current production stands at 8.5 million cubic meters. Current demand ranges between 22 and 25 million cubic meters, according to Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir.

Syria is seeking to expand cooperation with major global companies and leverage modern expertise and technologies in exploration and production, aiming to support the energy sector and enhance investment opportunities and economic development in the country, which has been severely weakened by years of war since 2011.