Syria (2012)

Degree of reliance on imported energy:

Net Exports (2007): 4473 ktoe

Syria is the only net exporter of crude oil in the eastern Mediterranean region. The country is dependent on imports of petroleum products to satisfy its needs, however, importing some 5 times more than export capacity. Much of refined products had to be imported, and by 2008, the net value of Syria's oil exports and imports had a negative balance of $100 million, down from a positive balance of $1.9 billion in 2006.

Syria exports more power than it imports- in 2009, the figures were 615m kWh exported to 542m kWh imported.

Main sources of Energy:

Total Installed Electricity Capacity (2009): 8.20 GWe

Total Primary Energy Supply (2009): 22,502 ktoe 
Crude Oil and Products: 73.7% 
Natural Gas: 25.6% 
Hydro: 0.7%

In 2009, Syria generated 43,408 GWh of electricity and consumed 27,185 GWh.

Country:

Syria

Extent of the network:

Syria is working to meet its domestic need for electricity, with 1000 MW of capacity under construction as of mid-2009.

Approximately 90% of the population has access to electricity. Syria’s power grid is linked up with those of several neighbouring countries, including Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

Capacity concerns:

Damascus has rising energy needs, driven by a high local birthrate and an emerging private sector. Syria's government also has to cope with an influx of 1.5 million Iraqi refugees, consuming an additional $1 billion in diesel, electricity and liquefied natural gas resources annually.

During the last decades Syria’s energy supply relies on its own oil and natural gas resources; however, domestic oil production has declined rapidly during the period 1996–2005 from about 600 to 400 thousand Barrel a day and expected to arrive only 300 Barrel a day in 2030. A study which modelled the national energy chain indicates that: the primary energy will grow at annual average rate of 4.8% arriving 68 Mtoe in 2030; the total installed electric capacity will be optimally expanded from 6885 to 19500 MW in 2030; and the future national energy system will rely mainly upon oil and natural gas (NG) with limited contribution of renewables and nuclear to secure supply security. It forecasts that owing to the continuous decrease of oil production, oil export is expected to vanish in 2012 and the country will import about 63% of its primary energy demand in 2030, thereby imposing a challenge for the future national economy.

The main problems in the Syrian electricity sector are inefficiency and technical power losses that lead to periodic power outages. The grid suffers from considerable technical and commercial losses, with around 27% of electricity output, resulting in rolling blackouts, with the summer months the worst time for these.

Political unrest began in Syria in mid-March 2011, and led to a government crackdown on political opposition. This was followed by the imposition of sanctions on Syria by the United States and the European Union, as well as by additional sanctions by the U.S. on Syria's energy sector in August 2011. The ongoing popular uprising has been impacting on Syria’s security and economic conditions and reform efforts. For example, it forced Syria to delay the long-term plan to phase out the subsidies on petroleum products.

Potential for Renewable Energy:

Solar energy 
With an average horizontal irradiance of 6.5 kWh/m2/day, Syria is well-placed to utilise solar energy.  The yearly average solar radiation in Syria is 1825kWh/m2 and the land surface area is 185,180 km2, indicating the total available solar energy of about 1400 times the total energy consumption in 2007.  Solar water distillation is of particular interest to the arid country. The “renewables master plan” is projected to provide 250MW of photovoltaic power and 1 Mtoe per annum of solar heat by 2030.

Wind energy 
Syria's renewables master plan projects 1000-1500MW of wind energy by 2030. The country has 4.9 hours of full-load wind on average per day, and is hence well-placed to utilise the resource. Danish wind power company Vestas signed a partnership with Marafeq, a company comprised of Syrian and Kuwaiti holding groups, to construct two wind power plants in May 2010. These plants will be from 50 MW to 100 MW, and will be situated south of the capital, Damascus.

Geothermal energy 
Syria has no thermal waters or aquifers, and hence geothermal potential in the country is negligible.

Hydropower 
Syria's hydroelectric facilities are currently operating at about one-third of their full potential, supplying less than 8 percent of the country's electricity instead of meeting nearly a quarter of the nation's needs, with one of the major reasons being a fall in water levels on the Euphrates River. Hydroelectricity is expected to account for 4% of the total electrical power output in 2010 and less than 3% in 2020, due to the expected reduction in hydro resources, less water flow, and the expected increase in total energy demand in the future.

Biomass/Biofuels 
Arboreal and animal residue sources could provide an estimated 2000MWh annually.

Former Oil Minister Mtanius Habib suggests using gas instead of diesel or gasoline, noting that gas is less costly than oil, and the government should think seriously of importing cars running by CNG or hydrogen. He does not rule out the possibility of using alcohol as fuel for cars like Brazil and other Latin American countries.

Potential for Energy Efficiency:

Electricity demand has been growing at 7.5% a year, and set to double by 2020 and treble by 2030. Syrian electrical energy prices are heavily subsidised. In September 2007, a new tariff was introduced. The average tariff to the household consumer (for consumption of less than 500 kWh/month) did not change (US$ 0.03/kWh), but the tariff to industrial and other consumers increased to about US$ 0.10/kWh.

The transport sector in the country contributes most to primary energy demand. In 2009, Syria consumed 13,596 ktoe. By sector, the transport sector consumed the most at 5,189 ktoe, followed by the industry at 3,879 ktoe, the residential sector at 2,143 ktoe, agriculture and forestry at 266 ktoe and commercial and public services at 260 ktoe. By source, oil products contributed the most at 10,184 ktoe, followed by electricity at 2,338 ktoe, natural gas at 1,067 ktoe, biofuels and waste at 6 ktoe and coal and peat at 1 ktoe.

10% of urban population in the country lives in shanty-towns or equivalent, which are traditionally poor in terms of energy efficiency. Improved urban development, in conjunction with efficient building regulations, could reduce urban residential consumption significantly.

Ownership:

The state remains the sole operating producer and supplier in the power sector, working via the Ministry of Electricity, the Public Establishment for Electricity Generation and Transmission (PEEGT) and several other state bodies responsible for particular projects or sectors. Within the Ministry, the Public Establishment for the Distribution and Exploitation of Electrical Energy (PEDEE) is responsible for 14 regional distribution authorities.

The state-run Public Establishment for Electricity Generation and Transmission (PEEGT) controls generation and transmission of electricity, producing 88% of the total electricity, while the Public Establishment for Distribution and Exploitation of Electrical Energy (PEDEEE) is responsible for sales and distribution. The Ministry of Irrigation operates plants to produce 9% of the total electricity; and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources produces 3%.

The state-owned Syrian Petroleum Corporation (SPC, <a href="http://www.spc-sy.com/">www.spc-sy.com/</a>) owns a 50% stake in the mainoil producing consortium — the Al-Furat Petroleum Company (AFPC, <a href="http://www.afpc-sy.com">www.afpc-sy.com</a>). AFPC was established under Service Contract no. 210 ratified by Law no. 43 of 1977 and named as per decree-law no. 12 in 1985. AFPC is a joint venture company between the General Petroleum 
Corporation (50%) and private shareholders Syria Shell Petroleum Development (SSPD) (32%) and Himalaya Energy Syria (HES, a partnership between CNPC and ONGC). The company also produces hydrocarbon gas.

The SPC directly controls about half of the country's oil production and takes a 50% stake in development work with foreign partners.

The Syrian Gas Company (SGC) is the state-owned natural gas utility.

Structure / extent of competition:

Whilst distribution activities are unbundled, all sectors of the Syrian electricity market are funded by the state, with both PEEGT and PEDEEE being 100% state-owned. The SPC owns a half-stake in all sectors of the oil market, and is entirely owned by the state.

On November 14, 2010, President issued a decree enacting Law 32/2010 which allows private sector investment in both traditional and renewable energy, with an emphasis on public-private partnerships. IPPs are also allowed to produce electricity and sell it directly to corporate customers. The law creates three new institutions: the Public Establishment for Electricity Transport (PEET) is joined by generation and distribution authorities; and the present powers of the PEEGT is split and the functions of regulation and supervision for each part of the sector are given to a different institution. Electricity tariffs will still be set by the government.

Existence of an energy framework and programmes to promote sustainable energy:

Renewables has been part of overall energy plan since 2002, when the government called for renewable sources to make up 4.3% of the country’s total primary energy supply by 2011, a target that now looks unlikely to be met.

The 11th Five-Year Plan 2011-2015 includes the use of RE sources by constructing generation plants as a key part.

A UNDP project on Supply-side Efficiency and Energy Conservation and Planning was implemented between 1999 and 2005. The project contained five main components targeting demand side energy efficiency and supply side energy efficiency and resulted in the establishment of the National Energy Research Centre.

In 2002 the Syrian Ministry of Electricity launched, in collaboration with the UN DESA, the Renewable Energy Master Plan (REMP). Objectives of the REMP include:
<ul>
<li>
Increasing the share of RES in the power mix ,</li>
<li>
Establishing institutions and conducting surveys that will aid the uptake of RES,</li>
<li>
Achieving an estimated 1012 ktoe of renewable energy production by 2011.</li>
</ul>

The Law on Energy Conservation was enacted by the Ministry of Electricity in 2009 to fulfill the sustainable development requirements of the country, disseminate energy conservation concepts, energy efficiency actions, improve energy saving and deploy various renewable energy applications. Through this law, the relevant institutions shall be committed to energy conservation and efficiency practices, use renewable energies in all sectors of their activities and adopt high energy- efficiency equipments. They must also create their own Energy Conservation Units meant to assess, audit and monitor the implementation of previously stated improvements. The law also entitles the National Energy Research Centre (NERC), created in 2003 to foster energy efficiency and renewable energy deployment, with further responsibilities.

The Master Plan for Energy efficiency and Renewable Energies (MEERE), an updated renewable energy plan, will operate as a guide until 2030 and includes targets set for five-year periods beginning in 2010. The plan is being developed in partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GTZ). GTZ is working with the National Energy Research Council (NERC), an arm of the Ministry of Energy. Although the MEERE has not been released, the targets will be to produce 1000-1500 MW of wind power, 250 MW of biomass-based plant power, 250 MW of photovoltaic plant power and 1m tonnes of oil equivalent solar power per year. In addition, the five-year plan commits the NERC to investing some USD8m in RE projects.

The Ministry of Electricity and the Planning and International Cooperation Commission signed the project document of Energy Efficiency Code Project with the UNDP in January 2011. The project objective is to reduce CO2 emissions resulted from the energy sector in Syria by reducing energy demand in the building sector through preparing a new performance-based code of energy efficiency, including minimum energy performance standards (MEPS), energy-labeling of the new buildings, standards specified for EE materials, capacity building of principal stakeholders, and an appropriate compliance regime to ensure that these new requirements will be effectively implemented.

Syria is involved in the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Cairo-based regional think tank dedicated to the promotion of RE and EE, created in 2008, Regional Centre for Renewable Energies and Energy efficiency (RCREEE, <a href="http://www.rcreee.org/">www.rcreee.org/</a>), as a founding member.

Current energy debates or legislation:

The Syria foreign minister, Faysal Mekdad, told the Associated Press in January that his country was pursuing nuclear power generation to meet the needs of a growing population. 
Syria’s energy supply is about two-thirds of its required needs, leading to shortages in recent years. The Russian energy minister, Sergei Shmatko, said his country was studying the market potential in Syria.

The parliament, in mid-February 2009, passed legislation which revised the drafting of new building codes, mandating higher levels of energy efficiency and the rationalisation of consumption.

Careful husbanding of oil reserves may extend the life of the sector, but comprehensive structural reforms will not only help boost production, but improve the attractiveness of Syria's E&P sector.

While Syria faces some significant challenges maintaining current rates of domestic oil and gas production, the government has a vision of how to ensure the sector's sustainability.

Major energy studies:

Syria - National study (2007) 
<a href="http://www.planbleu.org/publications/atelier_energie/SY_national_study_f...

Studies are currently being undertaken by the Ministry of Electricity into the Syrian energy sector.

Role of government:

The Syrian Ministry of Higher Education has launched many programs on renewable energy, in electrical, mechanical and technical engineering faculties across the country.

The Ministry of Electricity is responsible for setting electricity sector policy in the country, including tariffs and proposals for reform in the sector.

Government agencies in sustainable energy:

The National Energy Research Centre (NERC) was established in 2003 to aid the country in meeting their climate change and energy security objectives. Responsibilities of the NERC include:
<ul>
<li>
Controlling energy consumption of major consumers,</li>
<li>
Impose obligations on large energy users (industrial or commercial) to reduce their energy consumption,</li>
<li>
Promote, through training and the creation of ESCOs, performance-based energy efficiency contracts.</li>
</ul>

The 2009 Law on Energy Conservation entitles the NERC to foster energy efficiency and renewable energy deployment, with further responsibilities. The Centre will elaborate energy conservation policies and strategies, draft laws and regulations for renewable energy applications in the industrial and agricultural sectors, collaborate with the private sector to foster potential electricity generation using renewable energy sources. The centre will also instruct local manufacturers and importers on how to improve energy efficiency of electrical appliances, cooperate with relevant governmental institutions to promote tax and custom exemptions to renewable energy and energy saving projects, support and create new research centres, raise awareness and promote education programs in the area of energy conservation.

Energy planning procedures:

The Ministry of Electricity is currently studying plans to extend electricity services to non-electrified communities in the Homs, Hamah and Al-hassakeh regions of the country. The Ministry is also examining the possibility of solar, wind or other renewable energy technologies as an economically-viable route.

Syria is currently connected and trading with the electricity networks of Egypt and Jordan. When the extension of an Egyptian-Saudi grid is complete, Syria will form part of a pan-Arab GCC grid, which will allow electricity trading with the Mediterranean ring and Northern Europe.

Energy regulator Date of creation:

The electricity sector in Syria comes under the control of the Ministry of Electricity. PEEGT and PEDEEE are responsible for regulating their areas of activity. Through the Law 32/2010, the present power of the PEEGT is split and the functions of regulation and supervision for each part of the sector are given to a different institution.

Degree of independence:

The Ministry of Energy is a direct subsidiary of the Syrian Government, and oversees the activities of the state utilities in transmission, generation and distribution. The Minister of Electricity is appointed directly by the President. PEEGT and PEDEEE have limited autonomy on operational decisions. Regulation is carried out through the Ministry and there is as yet no legislative provision for a separate regulatory agency.

Regulatory framework for sustainable energy:

The National Renewable Energy Master Plan has the following  regulations within it pertaining to renewable energy:
<ul>
<li>
The NERC approves the establishment of projects or ventures and determines share of state capital in any project,</li>
<li>
Feasibility studies to evaluate economic feasibility of important development projects,</li>
<li>
Any joint project where public sector equity is less than 25%  may be registered as a corporation or a limited liability company,</li>
</ul>

Numerous provisions are also made for the protection of capital and the encouragement of foreign investment in RET projects in Syria.

Regulatory roles:

The Ministry of Electricity is responsible for setting electricity tariffs in the country. The NERC is responsible for energy efficiency standards-setting in the country, as well as control over import duties on energy-efficiency materials. The Ministry of Electricity also controls the subsidies on gas and feedstock prices for PEEGT and PEDEEE.

Role of government department in energy regulation:

The Ministry of Irrigation and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources are responsible for some of the country's hydropower capacity.

Regulatory barriers:

The diplomatic isolation that Syria has suffered from appears to be diminishing, and many aspects of the energy sector in the country could benefit from the foreign investment that such relations boosts may bring.

References:

Hainoun, A., Seif Aldin, M., and Almoustafa, S. (2010) ‘Formulating an optimal long-term energy supply strategy for Syria using MESSAGE model’, Energy Policy, Vol. 38: 1701-1714. 
 
Almasri, R., Muneer, T., and Cullinane, K. (2011) ‘The effect of transport on air quality in urban areas of Syria’, Energy Policy, Vol. 39: 3605-3611. 
 
EIA (2011) ‘Country Analysis Briefs: Syria’ Last updated February 2013, available from: <a href="http://www.eia.gov/countries/cab.cfm?fips=SY">http://www.eia.gov/countri... [Accessed 28 July 2013]. 
 
IEA (2011), Country Information. Available at: <a href="http://www.iea.org/stats/countryresults.asp?COUNTRY_CODE=SY&Submit=S... 28 July 2013] 
 
Oxford Business Group (2011) The Report Syria 2011 London: Oxford Business Group. 
 
SYRPOWER (2011) ‘The Power & Electricity Sector in Syria: SYRPOWER 2011 4-7 April’, available from: <a href="http://www.syrpower.net/userfiles/File/Overview_of_Power_&_Electrici... [Accessed 28 July 2013]. 
 
UNDP (2006) ‘Supply-Side Efficiency and Energy Conservation & Planning project Syria: Final Evaluation’, available from: http://erc.undp.org/evaluationadmin/downloaddocument.html?docid=1510 [Accessed 16 April 2012]. 
 
UNDP (2011) ‘Signing of the Document of Energy Efficiency Code Project in the Building Sector’, Press Release 26 January 2011, available from: <a href="http://www.undp.org/content/rbas/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2011/... [Accessed 28 July 2013]. 
 
World Bank (2011) ‘Country Brief’ Updated 2012, available from: <a href="http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/MENAEXT/SYRIANARABEXT... [Accessed 28 July 2013]. 
 
Assyrian International News Agency: "Syria's water and energy needs", 18th March 2009. <a href="http://www.aina.org/news/20090317220151.htm">http://www.aina.org/news/20... 28 July 2013]. 
 
GreenProphet: "Syria's master plan for renewable energy", 12th July 2010. <a href="http://www.greenprophet.com/2010/07/syria-renewable-energy/">http://www.... 28 July 2013].

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