TotalEnergies to discuss Syria offshore exploration, still wary of insecurity

Pouyanné, said on Tuesday that he would discuss signing an offshore exploration contract with Syrian officials, but added that lingering insecurity meant a return to onshore oil activities was still not a viable option.

The CEO was accompanying French President Emmanuel Macron on his visit to the country as part of a business delegation, but the meetings were overshadowed by bomb attacks in the capital Damascus on Tuesday.

Prior to pulling out of Syria in 2011 owing to EU sanctions, Total produced around 30,000 barrels of oil per day in the country's east, as well as some gas.

"Clearly the security situation still does not allow us to work here today," Pouyanné told journalists in Damascus.

"Today the sector is in poor condition. Various groups continued producing during the conflict, but in a completely irregular way. Frankly, Syria is not a major oil story," he said.

Pouyanné was speaking shortly before the bomb attacks. A Total press representative declined to comment on whether his schedule had been affected by the incident.

The blasts wounded 18 people near the Four Seasons hotel, where Macron had spent the night. Macron, whose motorcade had left the hotel shortly before the blasts, did not hear the explosions. He pressed ahead with his visit, meeting President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the presidential palace.

Bombs injure 18 in Damascus as Macron makes historic visit to Syria

Offshore exploration

Total signed a memorandum of understanding with the Syrian Petroleum Company in May to explore an offshore block in the Mediterranean.

"Syria's offshore area has never really been explored historically, so we have partnered with other companies to look into it. We will discuss it today with our Syrian counterparts to see whether we can move towards a contract," Pouyanné said. TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne on 23 March, 2026.

"Obviously, we'd rather find oil than gas, but in the eastern Mediterranean most discoveries so far, in Cyprus and Israel, for example, have been gas," he added.

Total has also recently spoken about the need to build pipelines through Syria to transport oil from Iraq as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Fear of mines alone could disrupt Strait of Hormuz shipping, warns French admiral

Pouyanne reiterated on Tuesday that projects to rebuild oil transit routes between Iraq and Syria, such as the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline, were the priority.

No project site visits were planned for Total during the trip, the CEO said, because the terrain was not safe enough to send teams in.

"We need to give the government time to establish control over the country, we also have to be realistic with a country emerging from 15 years of civil war. We need patience, this will be part of our discussions," he said.

Looking to rebuild

France and Syria will begin restoring €51 million in confiscated Rifaat al-Assad assets, the Elysée said.

Macron said France was working to redefine its security and military cooperation with Syria, including possible support from French special forces in the fight against Islamic State, which has claimed several attacks on Syrian forces this year.

Posting on the social network X shortly after the blasts, Macron said his visit was continuing and praised the "dignity, courage and determination" of the Syrians he had met.

Rebuilding Aleppo brick by brick

"We are not naive about the risks, but they are being managed," Macron 

said later in a news conference with Sharaa. "Certain groups" sought to prevent "Syria's full and complete reintegration into the international community", he added.

Macron led calls for the lifting of Western sanctions on Syria last year, and said France was ready to help rebuild Syria's economy and banking sector.

The Elysee said the logistics company CMA CGM signed a partnership deal with Syria, including air cargo freight handling at Damascus airport, and that France and Syria would start a process to restore to Syria €51 million of assets confiscated from the late Rifaat al-Assad, Bashar's uncle.

 (with Reuters)