BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. Syria imported
$294.583 million worth of natural gas from Azerbaijan from January
through August 2026, totaling 864.410 million cubic meters,
according to the State Statistical Committee.


Overall, Azerbaijan exported 16.378 billion cubic meters of
natural gas worth $5.711 billion to eight countries during the
first eight months of 2026.


Compared with the same period in 2025, the value of natural gas
exports decreased by $286.011 million, or 4.8%, while export
volumes fell by 75.102 million cubic meters, or 0.5%.


Meanwhile, Azerbaijan imported natural gas worth $14.471
million, totaling 215.022 million cubic meters, from a single
country, Iran, from January through August 2026.


During the same period in 2025, Azerbaijan imported 233.303
million cubic meters of natural gas worth $36.321 million from two
countries, Russia and Turkmenistan.


As a result, the value of Azerbaijan's natural gas imports
declined by $21.850 million, or about 60.2%, year-on-year, while
volumes decreased by 18.281 million cubic meters, or 7.8%.


On July 12, 2025, during a working visit to Azerbaijan by Syrian
transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a memorandum of
understanding was signed between SOCAR and the Government of the
Syrian Arab Republic. The document was signed by SOCAR Supervisory
Board Chairman Mikayil Jabbarov and Syrian Energy Minister Mohammed
al-Bashir.


All technical preparations for transporting natural gas have
been completed. Exports of Azerbaijani gas to Syria via Türkiye
began on August 2, 2025.


During the first phase of the project, Azerbaijan plans to
supply Syria with 1.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually.
The gas is transported through Türkiye's Kilis region to power
plants in Aleppo and Homs, where it is used to generate
electricity. The project is expected to provide 1,200–1,300
megawatts of power generation capacity.


Expanding natural gas exports is one of Azerbaijan's key policy
priorities. The country currently exports gas to 16 countries and
has the world's widest geographic reach for pipeline gas
supplies.







Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Türkiye–Syria natural
gas pipeline, Azerbaijan's Economy Minister and SOCAR Supervisory
Board Chairman Mikayil Jabbarov described the project as the result
of the political will of four countries. He said that gas exports
from Azerbaijan to Syria through Türkiye were a clear example of
joint efforts and shared results.


Türkiye's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan
Bayraktar said the infrastructure would initially enable exports of
up to 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Syria annually.


He noted that transporting Azerbaijani gas to Syria through
Kilis would enable power plants with a combined capacity of around
1,200 megawatts to operate in Syria and help meet the electricity
needs of five million households.


Syrian Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir described the project
as the beginning of cooperation between the two countries.


"This is not the last project. We will implement even larger
projects together with Azerbaijan in the future. We have reached
agreements on expanding technical cooperation with Azerbaijan and
implementing new investment projects," he said.


Fahad Hamad Al-Sulaiti, director general of the Qatar Fund for
Development, praised Azerbaijan's role in the project in an
exclusive interview with Trend.


Noting that the first deliveries of natural gas to Syria had
begun, Al-Sulaiti said the project was the result of successful
cooperation among Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Qatar.


"We highly appreciate Azerbaijan's role in this process and want
this partnership to expand further in the future," he said.