Syrian officials met with executives from Chevron on Tuesday to discuss converting a preliminary offshore exploration agreement into a binding contract. Talks also explored the US oil major’s potential involvement in reviving a long-dormant pipeline linking Iraq to Syria’s Mediterranean coast, which if realized would mark a significant development for the war-torn country’s reconstruction push. 

Syria’s new government is seeking to translate a flurry of energy-sector memorandums of understanding into concrete investments as it works to rebuild an industry devastated by more than a decade of war, sanctions and isolation.

What happened: Syrian Petroleum Company CEO Yousef Qiblawy met a Chevron delegation led by Frank Mount, the company’s president of corporate business development, in Damascus on Tuesday. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa separately received the delegation alongside senior officials including Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.

Per Syria's Sana news agency, discussions focused on steps to convert an existing memorandum of understanding covering offshore exploration in Syria’s Block 1 into an executive contract. Chevron and Qatar’s UCC Holding signed a preliminary agreement with Syria in February aimed at developing the country’s first offshore oil and gas field. In May, TotalEnergies, ConocoPhillips and QatarEnergy also signed an MoU with the SPC to explore a block off the coast of Latakia.