In 2003, Syria produced about 245 Bcf of Natural Gas, up sharply from 205 Bcf in 2002. Syria plans to increase this production in coming years as part of a strategy to substitute natural gas for Oil in power generation in order to free up as much oil as possible for export. A number of new gas-fired power projects are currently under construction or being planned. Another possible source of natural gas is imports. Syria signed agreements with Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon in early 2001 for an onshore Pipeline network (the "Arab Gas Pipeline") which would link the four countries and make Syrian imports of natural gas from Egypt a possibility. The section of the pipeline running from Egypt to northern Jordan currently is in the final stages of construction. An agreement was signed in January 2004 between Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon for the extension of the pipeline into Syria and Lebanon. Syria issued an invitation for bids for the extension project in June 2005. Meanwhile, Syria has begun exporting a small quantity of natural gas to Lebanon.
In October 1997, Syria announced discovery of a large new natural gas field in the Abi Rabah area of the Palmyra region. In addition to supplying a new (completed in 1997), 375-megawatt, power plant at Zaisoun in central Syria, the Palmyra fields have been linked with a new pipeline to Aleppo, as Well as to the Tishreen power plant in Damascus and the Mhardeh power plant in Homs. Najib, the fourth and final field to be developed in the Palmyra region, started production in 2000 at a capacity of 100 Mmcf/d. A modest-sized new discovery was reported in the Palmyra area in August 2002 by the Croatian company INA Naftaplin, which tested at about 9 Mmcf/d.
In September 2001, several months ahead of schedule, an important new, integrated natural gas project (called "Desgas") was completed in the Deir ez-Zour region, three years since a $430 million service agreement was signed between SPC on the one hand, and ConocoPhillips and TotalFinaElf on the other. The new complex utilizes approximately 175 Mmcf/d of previously-flared, "associated" (found together with oil) natural gas, in the Deir ez-Zour oil fields. TotalFinaElf and ConocoPhillips each hold 50 percent interest in the project, with ConocoPhillips as lead Operator. ConocoPhillips announced in February 2004 that it intended to end its operations at Deir ez-Zour in the future, likely by letting the current contract lapse in 2005. The Deir ez-Zour complex now includes a natural gas gathering system and processing plant, plus a 155-mile pipeline to carry 150 Mmcf/d of natural gas to the grid serving western Syria.