Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced on Wednesday hat Turkey will begin supplying natural gas from Azerbaijan to Syria on August 2.
"We made a swap agreement with Azerbaijan, and the gas that will come from Azerbaijan will be exported to Aleppo, Syria, via Kilis," Bayraktar told Anadolu Agency.
He said ministers from Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Qatar will attend a ceremony on Saturday to mark the launch of the gas flow, adding that Doha would contribute to financing the project.
“With the six million cubic meters of gas that we are planning to send there, we will be able to realize 1,200 megawatts of electricity production,” he said.
Bayraktar added that Turkey will also supply 500 megawatts (MW) of electricity directly to support Syria’s energy needs.
During a visit to Damascus in May, the Turkish minister announced that Turkey would provide two billion cubic meters of gas annually, along with 1,000 MW of electricity.
He also said earlier this month that Azerbaijan’s state-owned energy firm SOCAR may become a partner in the deal.
Syria’s Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir confirmed in May that Damascus and Ankara had reached an agreement for natural gas deliveries through a northern pipeline.
Bayraktar said the gas would fuel Syria’s existing power plants, with initial deliveries going to Aleppo. He noted the supply is meant to help address severe electricity shortages, with outages in many areas lasting over 20 hours a day.
Ankara remains closely aligned with Syria’s interim government. Since the ousting of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, several states have moved to support the country’s recovery. Saudi Arabia has signed more than $5 billion in investment deals spanning energy, transport, and finance.
On June 2, the Damascus Stock Exchange reopened after a six-month shutdown. Weeks after that, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order lifting most sanctions on Syria’s new authorities.