In the context of diversifying energy sources, especially after the 1973 crisis among OPEC member states, the Eastern Mediterranean has become an investment magnet for major energy companies worldwide. Giants such as ExxonMobil and Chevron from the United States are active in the region, alongside QatarEnergy. Leading European companies like France’s TotalEnergies and Italy’s Eni also have a strong presence. Mid-sized companies have entered the market as well, such as the Greek-British firm Energean, which is gradually expanding its operations across various fields. A significant new development is the entry of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan, known as SOCAR, into the Israeli market in partnership with British Petroleum. Smaller national companies operating in Egypt and Israel often establish partnerships with global firms.
“Israel is considered the strongest player in the Eastern Mediterranean gas equation, particularly after a series of discoveries such as the Tamar and Leviathan fields, which transformed it from an importer to a major gas exporter,” oil and gas expert Laury Haytayan tells Daraj. It currently exports gas to Jordan and helps meet a significant portion of Egypt’s growing demand. “However, exporting this gas to global markets requires transporting it via pipelines to Egypt’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, where it is converted into liquid form for export,” Haytayan adds.
However, with declining domestic production and rising internal demand, Egypt has begun consuming most of the gas it receives, which has “created challenges for Israel’s ability to expand its external exports, especially given its limited infrastructure.”
Ensuring Israel’s energy security was a central focus for former U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, who sought to protect Israeli interests within the regional and international energy systems. He placed the gas file at the core of his vision for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, linking regional energy projects to the possibility of economic growth for Palestinians, considering that economic development could serve as an entry point to de-escalate tensions. While Israel has prevented Palestinians from developing the Gaza Marine field, discovered by British Petroleum in 2000, under the pretext of Hamas’ control over the Gaza Strip, Hochstein worked to establish a network of interconnected interests in the Eastern Mediterranean aimed at reducing the likelihood of conflict and promoting regional cooperation. After the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023, efforts to develop the Gaza Marine field came to a halt, even though Israel had granted initial approval for the project in June of the same year, in collaboration with the Palestinian Authority and Egypt.
Essential Role for Damascus
Given this context, the need for alternative routes for gas distribution has resurfaced, particularly in light of the challenges facing Egypt, bringing Syria back into focus as a potential strategic corridor for gas exports from Israel and the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe, either via overland pipelines or a newly established regional logistics network.
Before the outbreak of the civil war in 2012, Syria was producing about 400,000 barrels of oil per day and nearly 316 million cubic feet of gas daily, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But with the onset of war, natural gas production dropped from 8.7 billion cubic meters to 3 billion cubic meters in 2023, according to estimates by BP and the International Energy Agency. Syria was sidelined from the oil and gas sector, shifting from a producing and exporting country to an importing one that relies on Iranian supplies due to sanctions and the war.
According to Neil Quilliam, Associate Fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Syria’s transitional president Ahmad al-Sharaa shifted the balance of power in the Middle East. The meeting was viewed as a culmination of geopolitical changes in the region and a strong endorsement of Syria’s reintegration into the global system. This is also confirmed by oil and gas expert Laury Haytayan, who noted that “Syria has a well-known onshore oil and gas sector, but before 2011 it remained partially closed due to socialist policies and restrictions on the participation of international companies. The infrastructure then suffered from neglect after the war erupted. If sanctions on companies are lifted, major firms will flock to invest immediately in onshore oil and gas fields and to modernize them.”
During a tour of several Gulf states, Trump stated at an investment forum in Riyadh, “I will issue an order to lift sanctions on Syria to give them a chance at greatness.” While he invited the Syrian president to sign the Abraham Accords with Israel, the latter extended an invitation to American companies to invest in Syria’s oil and gas sector.
Syria’s Minister of Energy, Mohammad al-Bashir, held a meeting with a delegation from a private American company to discuss opportunities for cooperation in gas exploration and infrastructure development. Al-Bashir confirmed that the Syrian government is working to create a legal and investment environment conducive to attracting foreign companies to the Syrian market, particularly in the energy, transport, and water infrastructure sectors. Al-Bashir also met with a Turkish investment delegation to explore potential cooperation in Syria’s oil and gas sector. Syria could attract investment by accelerating the evaluation of its offshore resources. In this context, “Turkey—as Syria’s second sponsor—has a special interest in new discoveries, as it seeks to diversify its gas sources through its Eastern Mediterranean allies. Therefore, Ankara may push Turkish and foreign companies to carry out exploration and drilling operations in the Mediterranean Sea, which would serve the shared interests of supporting Syria’s gas sector and enhancing Turkey’s energy security,” according to Haytayan.
Jonathan Bass, CEO of Argent LNG, presented a strategic plan to Presidents Trump and al-Sharaa for reviving and developing Syria’s oil and gas sector. The plan includes the creation of the Syrian-American energy company “SyriUS Energy,” focused on the slogan “Syria First” or “Make Syria Great Again.” The plan envisions integration with neighboring countries through shared energy infrastructure, such as oil and gas pipelines, as a tool to enhance economic diplomacy, according to CNBC.
Less than a week after Trump’s announcement, on May 20, 2025, the European Union approved lifting the sanctions imposed on Syria following the bloody crackdown by former president Bashar al-Assad on Syrian protesters in 2011. These sanctions had included broad restrictions on essential sectors such as finance, trade, transport, and energy.
Haytayan also noted that “Syria has many incentives to move forward.” Gulf countries are expected to play a key role in Syria’s push into the field of new energy, particularly hydrogen, which Syria is looking to develop. Recently, conferences held in Berlin discussed the transportation of hydrogen for use in Europe. According to Haytayan, “participants confirmed that their studies showed that transporting hydrogen from the Gulf to Europe would be less costly if carried out through a network of pipelines passing through Syria.” She added that “if economic agreements are reached for this project, it would provide Syria with a major boost to integrate into regional economic networking, thereby restoring Syria’s active role in the region.”
Amid the Race for Eastern Mediterranean Gas: Lebanon’s Struggles Reduced to Local Council Disputes
In the ministerial statement of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s cabinet, the government affirmed its intention to resume oil and gas exploration operations. However, the inclusion of a clause on “addressing the risks resulting from climate disruption” reveals a contradiction between environmental priorities and economic policies. In an interview with Daraj, Environment Minister Tamara Zein explained that “Lebanon is a victim of climate change, pointing out that the country is responsible for only 0.07 percent of global emissions.” She warned against overly rigid environmental stances that could come at the expense of the economy, arguing that development cannot be achieved without a strong economy, and that Lebanon must adopt a realistic approach. “We cannot suffocate our economy to meet obligations that major countries themselves do not honor,” she said.
Within this context, oil and gas expert Laury Haytayan told Daraj that “government strategies are typically defined clearly and translated into strategic alliances and actionable programs. In Lebanon, however, consultations are held regardless of political affiliations, and vague language is used in the ministerial statement without concrete implementation plans. As a result, pledges to develop the oil and gas sector end up conflicting with commitments to combat climate change, lacking both a timeline and a comprehensive vision at a time when Lebanon’s economy urgently needs structural reforms.”
As Syria shows increasing potential to revitalize its gas sector and Israel continues to reinforce its position as an economic power in the Eastern Mediterranean, concerns are growing that Lebanon may squander its opportunity to secure a place on the region’s energy map unless it accelerates its pace of serious action. In this regard, Haytayan criticized Lebanon’s inconsistent approach, stating that the current strategy is entirely ineffective. “We can’t sign a contract with one company and wait five years before contracting another, or drill one well and then freeze all activity for three or four years, as has been the case since 2020,” she said.
There is a noticeable absence of serious public debate in Lebanon about the future of the oil and gas sector. “Between divisions over whether to rely on fossil fuels or transition to renewable energy, the national conversation remains mired in internal issues such as disarmament or local conflicts between municipalities and village leaders,” Haytayan explains. The lack of a clear vision presented to potential investors has further pushed Lebanon away from investment opportunities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The third licensing round for offshore gas exploration in Lebanon is scheduled to launch by November 2025, at which point the extent of companies’ interest in investing in this sector will become clearer. Meanwhile, with Syria receiving wide-ranging investment incentives and regional efforts underway to link the Middle East to India and Asia, Lebanon must quickly determine its position. “We cannot afford to miss this opportunity between Syria’s growing economic capabilities and Israel’s already strong economy,” warned Haytayan. She added that “the Lebanese state must define its goals for gas sector development within a clear timeline; if desired outcomes are not achieved within that period, the file must be closed definitively.”
The Offshore Petroleum Resources Law stipulates that exploration and production agreements may only be signed with prequalified joint stock companies. During the first licensing round in 2013, a prequalification process was held based on legal, technical, financial, and QHSE (Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment) standards. Fifty-two companies submitted applications, of which 46 were approved: 12 as operators and 34 as non-operators. At the time, the law required consortiums to include two operators and one non-operator. In 2017, however, the system was changed to expedite procedures. Under the revised framework, companies submit bids first, followed by a pre-selection phase, and if criteria are met, their financial and technical offers are evaluated.
“The identity of the companies to be selected remains unknown, as the latest system may again be adopted for the upcoming licensing round,” Haytayan notes. “The border-adjacent blocks—specifically blocks 8, 9, and 10—are subject to special criteria based on the maritime border demarcation agreement, meaning that no Lebanese or Israeli companies are eligible to apply.”
Could Mediterranean Gas Become a Pathway for Normalizing Relations between Lebanon and Israel?
On October 27, 2022, Lebanon signed a U.S.-brokered agreement to delineate its maritime border with Israel, during a ceremony held at the United Nations peacekeeping site in Naqoura, southern Lebanon. According to Reuters, former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid described the agreement as a “tremendous achievement” and claimed that it marked Lebanon’s de facto recognition of Israel. In practice, the agreement amounted to an implicit acknowledgment of Israel through a treaty-making capacity. Article 6 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties states that “every state possesses the capacity to conclude treaties,” a principle that implicitly affirms the statehood and sovereignty of contracting parties, as non-recognized entities are not eligible to enter into legally binding international treaties.
According to Haytayan, “Lebanon adopted a pragmatic approach to maritime border demarcation. If we were a state that didn’t recognize Israel, then we wouldn’t have signed any agreement with it to demarcate borders in the first place. Those waters are part of Palestine’s territory, and Lebanon should have negotiated with the Palestinian leadership over them first.”
In light of ongoing economic developments and shifting political dynamics across the Middle East, Haytayan posits the following questions: “Could integrating Lebanon into broader regional economic agreements offer it greater protection? And where does Lebanon stand within the emerging alliances and economic partnerships in the Eastern Mediterranean?”
