SYRIA - LPG Production.

Production and consumption of LPG in Syria have risen at a high rate. The average annual increase over the past 26 years has been about 10%.

Apart from the LPG being supplied by the gas processing plants, the Homs oil refinery produces about 70,000 t/y of the butane/propane mix and the Banias oil refinery is providing another 120,000 t/y. But Syria imports LPG as these capacities are way below the country's requirements.

CNG For NGVs: Plans have been under consideration in recent years for Syria's public transport sector to have natural gas vehicles (NGVs) using compressed natural gas (CNG). At first, the Damascus Public Transport Co. and similar state firms for the other cities will have buses running on CNG. At a later stage, trucks in the public transport sector will be converted to use CNG.

A study on the shift to CNG has been funded by the World Bank. In late 2000 the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs invited consultants to submit proposals for a new domestic transport pilot project to introduce NGVs. The consultants were also required to provide services for the preparation of tenders to procure NGVs, mainly buses for the urban centres, as well as supervision of their operation over a two-year period.

The Syrian Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ministry has been consulting on this matter with its counterparts in Egypt and other countries. But until now no progress has been reported in the fields of NGV/CNG.

The Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Intestment & Partnership on Nov. 25, 2005, give Syria a 200m loan for construction of a 750 MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant near Deir ez-Zor. This was part of FEMIP aid encouraging Syria to accelerate its shift from oil to natural gas. In 2004 Syria received a 200m loan from FEMIP for the gas-fired Deir Ali power plant.