SYRIATV — broadcast
20260920 093000 UTC
516 transcript segments
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[00:00:00] Implementing this decision for two years so that the student who is in
[00:00:03] Finally, in the first grade, for example,
[00:00:06] of secondary school or second secondary school, meaning this study will be completed, meaning so that he does not
[00:00:09] go to nothing. The
[00:00:12] third matter, as one of
[00:00:14] to preserve this the alternatives and best options for
[00:00:16] resource, which is more precious than fossil fuels, we ask
[00:00:18] His Excellency the Minister to provide a briefing on the studies
[00:00:22] is the coordination and agreement with and plans for constructing new dams at
[00:00:26] regarding water flow, because last a known level, meaning that we, as Syria, have the ability
[00:00:30] to exploit this in terms of water resources, rivers,
[00:00:33] or wind farms. take a long time
[00:00:47] the price-setting committee, is the distinction between oil materials
[00:00:51] and the impact of their pricing on the citizen
[00:00:54] taken into account as priorities
[00:00:57] and touching on the needs of the citizen? The diesel
[00:01:00] must reflect on the citizen
[00:01:03] of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor from the dams in in several aspects and directly affect him in more than one case.
[00:01:08] you. However, for example, gasoline is less, so when we deal with pricing,
[00:01:12] Euphrates River rises, they might open it to I advise or direct, if this matter
[00:01:16] is to be taken into account regarding the importance of addressing
[00:01:40] benefiting from it in
[00:01:42] in the fields for
[00:01:42] has marine wells that Ladies and Gentlemen, dear colleagues,
[00:01:45] in this session, we will discuss
[00:01:49] the topic of water resources and hybrid energy
[00:01:52] and link it to the issue of oil
[00:01:55] of a heavy legacy
[00:01:55] as the projects currently being implemented in product prices and their contribution to rationalizing
[00:01:58] the consumption of derivatives. And increasing electricity production.
[00:02:01] So I ask you to allow me time because
[00:02:05] I will speak about a whole ministry and about the Energy Authority.
[00:02:08] So I ask His Excellency the Minister and the esteemed colleagues
[00:02:11] to allow us time. May Allah bless you. Allah Almighty said,
[00:02:15] "And We made from water every living
[00:02:17] thing." Will they not believe?
[00:02:21] Your Excellency, the Minister, since
[00:02:24] reviewed the that, and Syria would become the first in Syria is an agricultural
[00:02:26] country endowed by God with water resources
[00:02:30] suitable for agriculture, but
[00:02:33] unfortunately, we find that this important energy
[00:02:36] is wasted by 90%, and
[00:02:40] only 10% is utilized of this energy that is worth
[00:02:44] and preserving millions of dollars. In addition,
[00:02:48] the matter returns and reflects on agricultural
[00:02:51] crops. So agricultural lands in Syria suitable
[00:02:54] for cultivation, more than 60 to 70%, are not
[00:02:58] utilized, and
[00:03:02] cultivation, as well as water flow, Your Excellency the Minister, between us and
[00:03:05] on the Euphrates River, our water share is 500 cubic meters per
[00:03:08] second according to the 1987
[00:03:12] an administrative body that supervises agreements, except during the past years, we only receive 200 cubic meters per
[00:03:16] second. And we used to complain about
[00:03:19] issue. They think that this drought during and transparent discussion the previous four years
[00:03:22] and the decrease in water levels and the lack
[00:03:26] or have knowledge in of rain last winter. Thank God, Allah Almighty has blessed
[00:03:29] whether for investment or us with a rise in the river
[00:03:32] level but unfortunately, what we used to complain about
[00:03:36] has become a burden on us, and we have started to pray to Allah Almighty
[00:03:40] to get rid of this water, to get rid of this energy that
[00:03:43] some countries and peoples wish for. Your Excellency
[00:03:46] the Minister, there is also a shortage in modern
[00:03:50] water
[00:03:52] have used networks for agricultural system, as companies that are not crops. It does not exceed
[00:03:57] or producing from the basin of the Euphrates River and other rivers and lakes by more than 2 kilometers to five kilometers. People
[00:04:01] can cultivate after that,
[00:04:04] they rely on rain-fed agriculture. There are no modern
[00:04:08] or advanced drip or trickle irrigation
[00:04:12] systems in the state. So many lands suitable for agriculture, especially in
[00:04:15] the Syrian desert, are not utilized.
[00:04:19] So, Your Excellency the Minister, our first question is so that the tragedy
[00:04:23] of last winter is not repeated, because it was only crisis
[00:04:26] management, which was
[00:04:28] the Minister. Finally, I apologize warnings and
[00:04:31] media statements only. There were only media warnings. There was no prior
[00:04:35] We have proceeded with digital transformation from plan to manage such a crisis. And today, Your Excellency, we have 1200
[00:04:39] cubic meters per second in summer. Now in summer, 1200
[00:04:42] cubic meters. So what about tomorrow in winter? We may reach 2000 cubic
[00:04:45] meters or 2500. There is a danger even of dam
[00:04:49] collapses. There is a danger of flooding
[00:04:52] Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor and the like,
[00:04:56] and the damage to many crops and the damage to many houses.
[00:05:00] And bridges, as well as not benefiting from
[00:05:03] floods, floods in the desert. We had floods last
[00:05:07] year that destroyed bridges due to their strength, due to the abundance of water. This
[00:05:10] water is also wasted. It went into the river basins and
[00:05:14] valleys without any benefit. Your Excellency the Minister, what
[00:05:17] is the plan that the ministry has implemented? Not the plan, but the measures.
[00:05:21] The plan will come later. The measures that the ministry has implemented
[00:05:28] gold, if we could exploit it.
[00:05:31] Also, what
[00:05:34] our brothers in Turkey
[00:05:38] year, the flow or coordination or work
[00:05:42] was unilateral. There was no complete coordination, and that's why we were surprised
[00:05:45] by the crisis, and today the crisis is coming again in winter. What are the
[00:05:49] procedures or agreements that
[00:05:53] you have implemented? And have
[00:05:57] we prepared the irrigation channels? Have
[00:05:59] we dredged the agricultural reform channels?
[00:06:03] Complete, complete during last year. What
[00:06:07] are the distances that have been prepared
[00:06:10] to accommodate such accommodation? Or even
[00:06:13] storage. Have we repaired
[00:06:15] the desert? These all need answers. And also, Your Excellency
[00:06:19] the Minister, today we have in Egypt a spillway like Toshka. If the
[00:06:25] the desert, open water outlets in the desert. We have more
[00:06:29] than three areas in the desert where we can even store Euphrates
[00:06:32] water. So this is so that the
[00:06:36] tragedy is not repeated, Your Excellency the Minister.
[00:06:39] regard. And Your Excellency the Minister,
[00:06:43] if we establish a water
[00:06:45] network suitable for drip irrigation, it will also
[00:06:49] contribute to
[00:06:53] terms of oil energies and reducing
[00:06:56] oil consumption and increasing electricity. We have many projects,
[00:07:00] Your Excellency the Minister, that we can talk about, such as rehabilitating dams
[00:07:03] and others. There are also strategic projects such
[00:07:08] Saudi Arabia, implemented in Turkey, implemented in India, which are industrial
[00:07:11] reservoirs and smart canals that can even
[00:07:14] be used with artificial
[00:07:17] intelligence for modern irrigation,
[00:07:21] and this will cover, I am not saying hundreds of thousands of hectares, Your Excellency the Minister, but it will cover
[00:07:25] more than a million hectares if we can work
[00:07:28] with it. In addition, this project, Your Excellency the Minister, you may have
[00:07:31] seen it before, the Euphrates Renaissance project, which is to revive
[00:07:35] the Khabur River. The Khabur is a major
[00:07:38] tragedy. For 30 years, my brothers, some of you may not have heard of it.
[00:07:41] People were displaced around the Khabur because of the drought that occurred.
[00:07:45] Entire villages were displaced because
[00:07:48] there was no water to replenish it. What is the
[00:07:51] ministry's plan to revive the Khabur? We can
[00:07:54] revive it through water reservoirs. We can
[00:07:57] revive it like the project that you might see on the screens in front of you.
[00:08:01] Also, we have a project presented in
[00:08:05] 2006, the Tigris River diversion project. The Tigris River is 50
[00:08:08] kilometers long within Syrian borders. Do you know that
[00:08:12] nothing is benefiting from it? Not at all. The Syrian state does not benefit from the
[00:08:16] Tigris River at all, even though its water flow is even greater than that of the
[00:08:19] Euphrates River. There was a project in 2006 that could supply
[00:08:23] and irrigate Al-Hasakah completely and revive the
[00:08:25] Khabur River. Another strategic project is
[00:08:29] the Halabiyeh and Zalabiyeh Dam project on the Euphrates River,
[00:08:33] which provides electricity, water supply,
[00:08:35] and large agricultural production around the area. These are all projects
[00:08:39] that can be proposed,
[00:08:42] even in the budget. These are very large
[00:08:45] national strategic projects that must be in place.
[00:08:49] These are many benefits, Your Excellency the Minister, that we will first benefit from. If
[00:08:52] we build the network, we will reduce more than 50% of the water
[00:08:56] used for agriculture, as well as increase electricity production and reduce
[00:09:00] consumption.
[00:09:02] The second point, Your Excellency the Minister, is that
[00:09:06] unfortunately, there is an old disaster in Syria, which is the flow of sewage
[00:09:10] water around rivers and lakes, causing environmental
[00:09:13] pollution. This means that
[00:09:16] drinking water is contaminated. This is an old
[00:09:20] problem, but it needs to be addressed and measures need to be taken.
[00:09:24] We need to repair some sewage
[00:09:27] treatment plants and also
[00:09:31] equip some of them, especially in the eastern region, where there is no drinking
[00:09:34] water. River water is not suitable for use.
[00:09:38] And this, Your Excellency the Minister, is another benefit for energy. It produces gas,
[00:09:43] it produces fertilizer, and it also produces
[00:09:46] 700. If we operate and repair three
[00:09:49] plants, 700 million cubic meters of water that
[00:09:52] can be used in fodder projects and
[00:09:55] urban afforestation projects. And now I expect that the Ministry
[00:09:58] of Agriculture has signed with a Saudi company for almost 30
[00:10:02] thousand hectares or 300 thousand hectares, I do not remember the number.
[00:10:05] And this benefits these projects, and these agricultural products are exported
[00:10:09] abroad to benefit from them. So
[00:10:13] it is not a loss. Sewage treatment plants have health
[00:10:16] benefits and also benefits in reducing energy
[00:10:20] consumption, as well as financial benefits
[00:10:24] for the state.
[00:10:28] the third axis, water resources, Your Excellency the Minister,
[00:10:32] the Ministry of Energy announced on the 30th of last month that
[00:10:35] it would divert water from the Euphrates River
[00:10:39] to the Hassiya Industrial City, the phosphate factory.
[00:10:42] A valuable national product project, no objection
[00:10:46] to it, and we support this project, but Your Excellency the Minister, there are
[00:10:49] observations. The proposed project is 410
[00:10:52] km, a very
[00:10:55] long distance, with an initial amount of 571 million
[00:10:59] dollars. And I tell you, Your Excellency the Minister, this amount is not enough.
[00:11:03] I expect the amount to exceed one to one and a half billion dollars,
[00:11:06] similar to the carrier project that was implemented in Jordan.
[00:11:10] It took them from Aqaba to Amman, the same project cost them more than
[00:11:14] three and a half billion dollars. So I don't know how they put 570 million dollars.
[00:11:18] In addition to the long distance of 410 km, it needs protection, it needs
[00:11:21] maintenance, in addition to taking
[00:11:25] 170 thousand cubic meters from the share
[00:11:28] water. We have no objection,
[00:11:31] but the value of this amount for
[00:11:34] a project
[00:11:36] and a beating heart. Is it worth paying one and a half million dollars, for example,
[00:11:40] or more? We would like to see a study on such a project. Or there are
[00:11:44] alternative cases that we can propose now.
[00:11:48] Today we have Baniyas very close, more than 110-120
[00:11:51] km. We can build a water desalination plant that
[00:11:55] would not cost us 500-600 million dollars, or from Lake
[00:11:59] Qattina, for the project, only 80 km.
[00:12:02] It might not cost us 100 million dollars. Hasya itself
[00:12:07] do not exceed 1200 meters. Your proposal is good, colleague Mahmoud, but please
[00:12:11] pay attention to the time because you have taken the share of two ministries, not one.
[00:12:14] Don't worry, we are counting on you, Your Excellency. I will finish, God willing.
[00:12:17] 1200 valued at two million
[00:12:21] dollars, and this pulsates for 10 to 15
[00:12:26] years. The project is pulsating. I honestly expected that from the human resources and the Ministry
[00:12:30] of Energy, they would propose investing in the previous projects
[00:12:33] because they are national projects, developmental projects,
[00:12:36] community projects that produce and would make
[00:12:40] Syria the first in agricultural and food production,
[00:12:42] and also
[00:12:44] thousands of working hands would be employed in
[00:12:48] the Middle East if we implemented the three projects, either through investment or
[00:12:52] I even call on Your Excellency the Minister to include every project, three to five years,
[00:12:56] in the budget of the Ministry of Energy because these
[00:13:00] projects will make Syria the first in the Middle East and
[00:13:03] in the region in agricultural and food production, security,
[00:13:07] and environmental change,
[00:13:09] hydration and the demographic shift that
[00:13:12] is occurring from east to west. Your Excellency
[00:13:16] the Minister, I will not prolong this axis. We have finished
[00:13:20] with it. The question or the request. This is not a question,
[00:13:23] but the request is to form a vital committee
[00:13:25] to study the re-evaluation because today, on 30/9, the submission
[00:13:29] of bids will end. On 30/9 of the current month, the submission of bids will end.
[00:13:32] The request is to form a neutral committee
[00:13:35] to compare or study the three proposals or
[00:13:39] others with what is available in what the ministry has proposed.
[00:13:43] The last axis is hybrid or electrical
[00:13:46] Your Excellency the Minister, today the whole world is moving
[00:13:50] towards abandoning oil and its derivatives. Today, China
[00:13:54] is creating its own sun, abandoning oil and moving
[00:13:57] towards hybrid energy and electrical energy.
[00:13:59] Today, our meeting is about energy derivatives, and this
[00:14:03] is a problem. But as His Excellency the President said, we will start
[00:14:07] after others have finished. Today, alternative energy accounts for 60 to
[00:14:10] 70%, and 50% in some countries. Cars
[00:14:13] and vehicles, both heavy and agricultural,
[00:14:17] alternative energy. In Jordan, more than
[00:14:19] 30%, Your Excellency the Minister, use electric
[00:14:23] cars. What are the ministry's steps
[00:14:25] to localize this energy? This is a very important energy
[00:14:29] in terms of infrastructure, in terms of proposing
[00:14:33] laws to the People's Assembly,
[00:14:36] in terms of leading other ministries
[00:14:40] to control prices, to raise awareness
[00:14:43] of Syrian society, and also to reduce
[00:14:47] tariffs on this energy.
[00:14:49] This is a very important energy, Your Excellency
[00:14:55] you. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank
[00:14:58] you to my colleagues. Thank you to my brothers in the Energy
[00:15:06] our colleague Mahmoud's intervention, I would like to thank
[00:15:09] the head of the Energy Committee and the members of the Energy Committee for these
[00:15:13] fundamental and important questions
[00:15:16] that touch upon the concerns of the Syrian
[00:15:18] citizen. We ask Allah Almighty that this
[00:15:22] committee has conveyed all the concerns
[00:15:26] that our Syrian citizen thinks about. I will leave the floor
[00:15:29] to His Excellency the Minister to answer these questions, and I ask the head
[00:15:33] of the committee to record any answer to any question
[00:15:37] that has not been answered so that we can send it later in
[00:15:41] writing. So, please, Your Excellency the Minister.
[00:16:17] In the name of Allah,
[00:16:18] the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
[00:16:24] In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
[00:16:27] Mr. Speaker, honorable
[00:16:31] Mr. Chairman and members of the Energy Committee,
[00:16:35] esteemed Ladies and Gentlemen,
[00:16:38] members of the People's Assembly, peace and blessings of Allah be upon
[00:16:46] It is no secret to you that the Ministry of Energy was established with the formation
[00:16:49] of the new government in Syria. It combined three
[00:16:53] ministries to include four main files:
[00:16:56] electricity, oil and gas,
[00:17:00] water, and mineral wealth.
[00:17:04] This makes it one of the most
[00:17:07] important and complex files,
[00:17:11] due to its connection with people's daily needs on the one hand,
[00:17:13] and because it is the backbone
[00:17:17] and pillar of the economy and development
[00:17:21] on the other hand. Industrial cities, factories,
[00:17:24] and agricultural projects cannot be established
[00:17:28] without energy. So our challenges, in light
[00:17:32] of dilapidated infrastructure, were great
[00:17:36] and in this vital sector.
[00:17:39] And we in the Ministry of Energy
[00:17:43] view this meeting as an important opportunity
[00:17:45] to present the reality of energy clearly,
[00:17:48] directly, and transparently, and to discuss
[00:17:52] the existing challenges and to explain what has been achieved and what
[00:17:55] we are working on during the coming stage.
[00:17:58] We have carefully
[00:18:01] questions submitted by the Energy Committee, for which we thank them. They address
[00:18:05] fundamental issues in the work of the ministry. We have prepared
[00:18:09] a comprehensive presentation in which we made sure to provide
[00:18:12] answers with logical and accurate
[00:18:16] figures and facts, and to present the reality as
[00:18:19] it is: what we inherited, what we have achieved, and what
[00:18:23] still needs to be addressed, and what are the
[00:18:27] priorities and steps we are working on.
[00:18:29] We recognize the magnitude of the challenges facing
[00:18:32] the energy sector, and we do not belittle
[00:18:35] them. But at the same time, we know
[00:18:39] where we stand, what are the available
[00:18:41] capabilities, and where we are heading,
[00:18:45] and what can be achieved within the current circumstances. Therefore,
[00:18:49] we want this meeting to be a frank,
[00:18:52] practical, based on
[00:18:56] facts, data, results,
[00:19:00] and figures. And I will start, if
[00:19:02] you allow me, Mr. President, by presenting a presentation in which I will try to summarize as much as
[00:19:06] I can, and after that I will listen to the interventions
[00:19:10] of the esteemed members of the council and answer them
[00:19:13] clearly, God willing.
[00:19:35] Of course, our vision in the Ministry of Energy
[00:19:38] is a sustainable, secure,
[00:19:41] and flexible sector that supports economic development, enhances the quality of
[00:19:45] life, and focuses on efficiency, innovation, and partnership to achieve
[00:19:48] the optimal use of national resources and keep pace
[00:19:52] with the global transition towards clean energy.
[00:19:55] Our mission is to lead the energy sector towards efficiency
[00:19:59] and sustainability by managing national resources,
[00:20:02] developing policies and legislation, enhancing
[00:20:05] investment, and improving the quality of services and their oversight
[00:20:09] to achieve energy security and support sustainable
[00:20:13] development. The strategic goals
[00:20:16] are stability by reducing the gap between demand
[00:20:19] and supply to achieve energy, water, and environmental stability,
[00:20:23] and sustainability by enhancing
[00:20:26] the sustainability of energy and water resources and diversifying their sources.
[00:20:30] Governance and institutional development means enhancing good governance and comprehensive
[00:20:33] digital transformation and developing institutional
[00:20:36] and legislative capabilities. Establishing Syria as a regional
[00:20:40] energy corridor and hub, enhancing Syria's position in connecting,
[00:20:43] transporting, and exchanging energy regionally and internationally,
[00:20:46] and keeping pace with the transition towards sustainable energy sources.
[00:20:50] In the future, first, I want to brief you on governance and restructuring. As
[00:20:54] I mentioned and stated, the Ministry of Energy was established with the formation
[00:20:58] of the new government, and the restructuring of the
[00:21:01] Ministry of Energy came in response
[00:21:04] to challenges that accumulated during previous years, including
[00:21:07] bureaucracy, complex procedures, multiple entities, and overlapping
[00:21:10] responsibilities between oil and electricity, and between electricity
[00:21:14] and water. This transformation has been adopted by
[00:21:17] many economic countries, and some of them have even merged
[00:21:20] the Ministry of Energy's files with the
[00:21:24] countries. Some of them sufficed by merging these files, and some of them merged
[00:21:28] electricity and water, and some of them merged oil
[00:21:31] and electricity together. And after, Your Excellency
[00:21:34] the President, and His Excellency the President, through the formation of the government, merged these
[00:21:37] files into one file within the Ministry
[00:21:39] of Energy. In fact, there was a weakness in the investment-attracting
[00:21:43] environment and a decline
[00:21:47] in decisions and the accuracy of decisions and their correctness during
[00:21:50] the conflict or divergence and repulsion of these files from
[00:21:53] each other before merging them into one file. Governance
[00:21:57] and restructuring: The Ministry
[00:22:01] of Energy was established and sectors and ministries were merged
[00:22:04] according to Decree No. 150 of 2025.
[00:22:08] Institutions were restructured and transformed into economic holding
[00:22:11] entities. Here I want to point out that three companies
[00:22:15] were established in the Ministry of Energy: the Syrian
[00:22:18] Petroleum Company, the Syrian Electricity Company, and the Syrian
[00:22:22] Mining Company. These three companies,
[00:22:25] according to the decree that was issued to establish them, are public
[00:22:29] holding companies 100% owned by the state.
[00:22:32] Some people thought that we were moving
[00:22:35] towards privatizing the energy sector. No, these companies are
[00:22:38] companies owned by the state. It is possible that after
[00:22:41] years of their stability and capital valuation, some shares
[00:22:45] will be floated on local
[00:22:48] or international financial markets. This is possible in a later
[00:22:51] period, but now they are 100% owned by the state. Aramco also
[00:22:55] started as state-owned. Now some shares have been floated, I think about 4%
[00:22:59] of it is not owned by Aramco. Some companies
[00:23:02] own it, which are also Saudi companies or other holding companies. Also,
[00:23:05] we established the General Establishment for Drinking Water
[00:23:09] and Sanitation, which is an institution in Damascus that
[00:23:13] has companies for drinking water and sanitation. We used to
[00:23:16] suffer from governance issues, as there were institutions
[00:23:20] in every governorate called the General Establishment for Drinking Water and Sanitation. These
[00:23:23] institutions were not completed in the era of the defunct
[00:23:26] regime, and they were all linked to the minister.
[00:23:29] So there was a heavy burden, especially with the absence of these
[00:23:32] ministries to supervise these supervisory scopes of the minister.
[00:23:36] Therefore, a central institution was established in Damascus
[00:23:39] with companies in the governorates reporting to it.
[00:23:42] So these are four new bodies that were established in the ministry.
[00:23:46] The organizational structure of the ministry became
[00:23:50] as follows: there are supporting directorates, there is
[00:23:53] a Renewable Energy Support Fund, the General Establishment
[00:23:56] for Geology,
[00:23:58] the General Authority for Water Resources, which is
[00:24:02] water resources, including dams, irrigation canals, etc., and pumping
[00:24:05] stations for drinking water and irrigation at the same time.
[00:24:09] And there is the General Authority for the Euphrates Dam,
[00:24:12] and there is the General Establishment for Drinking Water and Sanitation, as we mentioned, in addition
[00:24:16] to three associated companies. And here I want to mention that these
[00:24:19] institutions are affiliated institutions affiliated with
[00:24:23] the Ministry of Energy. There are three companies that are associated
[00:24:26] with the ministry, and you know that association
[00:24:29] is different from affiliation. These are companies associated with the ministry and not
[00:24:32] affiliated. This means they have their own administrative and financial
[00:24:38] subject to the Ministry's law or the employees' law or
[00:24:41] other laws. They have a basic system. Their boards
[00:24:45] of directors were established by a decree from the President as well.
[00:24:49] And now the boards of directors are setting their basic system for
[00:24:52] approval, and they are setting their financial system for approval. Until now,
[00:24:56] their basic system has not been approved. The basic system of the SBC
[00:24:59] company is now in the General Secretariat for the issuance of a decree.
[00:25:03] They had some observations. They sent them to us for amendment.
[00:25:06] We returned them to the General Secretariat. God willing, it is under issuance for the adoption
[00:25:10] of a decree for a basic system, which is the administrative,
[00:25:13] legal, and financial
[00:25:15] reference for the Syrian Petroleum
[00:25:19] Company, and later Electricity
[00:25:21] and Mining.
[00:25:25] paper-based work to an integrated digital system.
[00:25:28] An official website for the Ministry of Energy and an energy portal are
[00:25:32] issues we are pursuing through digital transformation, automating transactions
[00:25:35] and linking entities and databases. Restoring rights and competencies.
[00:25:39] I wanted to refer to this that we have a number of
[00:25:42] employees who were dismissed due to their
[00:25:45] affiliation and association with the Syrian Revolution.
[00:25:48] We received 12,000
[00:25:51] applications. 10,000 people were reinstated, 10,015
[00:25:55] were reinstated to work, and 2,655 are under
[00:25:58] processing, either because the person submitted the application electronically or they were not present.
[00:26:02] They were interviewed, they were traveling, and now they have returned,
[00:26:05] or their institution was abolished or ceased
[00:26:08] to operate, so we are looking for a place for them, and some of them refused to join, looking for
[00:26:12] a more suitable place, but we
[00:26:14] reinstated 10,015
[00:26:17] people to work. In fact, we believe and claim
[00:26:21] that we, as a ministry, were the first to start signing contracts with dismissed
[00:26:24] employees. There was a referral to the General Secretariat in the past to issue
[00:26:28] a decree for the reinstatement of dismissed employees. We found that it would
[00:26:34] files, and so on. You know, some people passed away, some people are not present, some people
[00:26:38] retired, some people are present. Therefore, we took the step
[00:26:42] of signing temporary contracts with them initially, and this was a precedent
[00:26:45] we started. After that, most
[00:26:48] ministries followed suit until a decree is issued to confirm and reinstate
[00:26:51] them officially. This is regarding
[00:26:54] the administrative
[00:26:56] matters in the ministry. We move on to
[00:26:59] the technical specialized sectors
[00:27:03] that we supervise and follow up on. And we start with the oil
[00:27:06] and gas sector, which initially was an invitation, an invitation, an invitation
[00:27:10] to the hearing for oil derivatives, and then it expanded to all oil
[00:27:14] and gas, electricity,
[00:27:17] water, and mineral resources, etc. As for the oil and gas
[00:27:20] sector, we have sought to restore fields and rehabilitate infrastructure
[00:27:24] since day one. And you know that
[00:27:27] our entry into the fields, we will mention it now, God willing, was not from
[00:27:31] the first day of liberation, the liberation of Syria, but rather
[00:27:34] almost in the first quarter or by the end of the first quarter, the real entry
[00:27:38] into the fields began this year, meaning it has not been a long
[00:27:41] time. We have not been
[00:27:44] a long time, especially in eastern Euphrates and the Rmeilan
[00:27:48] and Hasakah regions. As for oil and gas wealth in Syria, we have
[00:27:51] 78 oil fields. 28 gas fields,
[00:27:55] our reserves are 2.5 billion barrels of crude oil
[00:27:58] and 241. Of course, this is based on old surveys, we have not
[00:28:01] yet formed a committee of geologists
[00:28:04] for the survey of oil and gas
[00:28:07] and a thermal map for geothermal, in addition to
[00:28:11] the issue of generating energy through the subterranean heat of geothermal, and adding
[00:28:15] to the map an update of the water map for groundwater in Syria. Now,
[00:28:19] this committee is for searching and contracting with a
[00:28:22] qualified company. We received many offers and companies, but
[00:28:26] some issues had a certain sensitivity, security sensitivity
[00:28:29] and others. We postponed the matter until this committee was formed. And now the committee
[00:28:33] is studying the reality of the existing
[00:28:36] stock and reserves and the new survey process for Syria. The reality of the
[00:28:40] oil and gas sector at the beginning of the liberation, we had
[00:28:43] 14 fields under our control from the beginning, which were west
[00:28:46] of the Euphrates, and about 140 wells in production.
[00:28:50] 7,000 barrels was Syria's production only, meaning without east
[00:28:53] of the Euphrates. In the beginning, these were the fields of the central region and Al-Taim,
[00:28:57] about 6 million cubic meters of average gas production, 6
[00:29:00] million cubic meters, and this is a very important number. Gas production was
[00:29:04] 6 million cubic meters, and I want to point out that there are many
[00:29:08] questions that come to us, as the Deputy mentioned, about the issue of conflicting
[00:29:12] statements and so on, and I want to emphasize
[00:29:14] the issue of sometimes the public's lack of
[00:29:18] understanding of a certain
[00:29:22] gas is the same as household gas, LPG. Certainly,
[00:29:26] not all people are specialists
[00:29:29] energy. When we talk about gas production of 6 million cubic meters, we are talking about
[00:29:33] natural gas, which is used in power plants
[00:29:36] to generate electricity, not LPG, household gas, which
[00:29:40] we need almost 1300 to 1500 tons per day of, which we
[00:29:44] are currently importing. We are producing 100 tons. Okay. This is
[00:29:48] called LPG, household gas. This is called natural gas, which
[00:29:51] is used in power plants, so that the words are clear
[00:29:55] when we talk about importing LPG gas
[00:29:59] natural gas. Stages of returning to the
[00:30:02] main fields. January 17, 2026, beginning of receiving the recovered
[00:30:06] oil fields. January 18-19, 2026, receiving a group
[00:30:10] of the most prominent fields in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor. In March
[00:30:13] 2026, entry into the Al-Hasakah region,
[00:30:16] and of course you know the settlement that took place east
[00:30:19] of the Euphrates, and there were approved companies
[00:30:22] in developing the fields and wells. Unfortunately, with the capabilities
[00:30:26] that were available to the engineers and technicians who were working there, the condition of the
[00:30:30] wells and the Salmanats was very bad. I used to
[00:30:32] produce 14,000. By the way,
[00:30:36] how was the conflict in statements? 140, and today 10,000 or
[00:30:39] 14,000. Of course, we used to produce about 14,000
[00:30:43] barrels. Of course, people, it doesn't mean that if I say today
[00:30:47] 140,000 or today we are producing 10,000 or 103,000, then tomorrow it must be
[00:30:50] 10,000. It could be 100,000. It could be
[00:30:53] 11,000. I mean, a few days ago, when fuel prices were raised,
[00:30:57] you saw roads blocked and crude oil stopped for them.