Official Denial
The Syrian Petroleum Company said on 16 June 2026 that it has not signed any agreement or partnership with AXP Energy and that the company has not entered Syria's oil and gas sector. The statement followed a wave of reports circulating on news sites and social media that claimed the firm had secured a foothold in the country's petroleum industry.
In its statement the company said that "any agreements or partnerships concerning the oil and gas sector are announced exclusively through official company channels," and urged outlets to rely on official sources.
The Company's Claim
The denial responded to a public announcement by AXP Energy, which said it had entered Syria's energy sector through a "farm-in" agreement granting it a 25 percent stake in a production-sharing contract for Block 9, an onshore concession in the central Tadmor Basin.
According to that announcement, the block covers roughly 10,039 square kilometers and sits within one of Syria's main oil belts, an area that saw seismic surveys and exploratory drilling before 2011.
Planned Work
The announcement said the firm would operate alongside a partner identified as Simpora Latakia Limited, with plans to reprocess existing seismic data and drill two wells by the fourth quarter of 2027.
None of those figures or commitments were confirmed by the state petroleum company, whose statement addressed only the existence of an agreement.
Foreign Investment Backdrop
The dispute comes after legislative amendments in 2025 that opened the door to greater foreign ownership in Syrian energy projects, part of a broader effort to rehabilitate the sector and draw in outside capital.
By insisting that only official channels can confirm deals, the state company signaled caution over unverified investment claims at a time when foreign interest in Syrian oil and gas is rising. The episode also underscores how publicly announced deal terms can run ahead of official confirmation in a sector still rebuilding after years of conflict, leaving investors and the public to weigh competing accounts of what has actually been agreed.