An explosion struck a major natural gas pipeline in northeastern Syria on Thursday, October 15, sparking a fire and prompting emergency crews to isolate the damaged section as authorities investigated the cause and assessed possible disruptions to energy supplies.
The Syrian Petroleum Company said the blast occurred at approximately 5:15 p.m. on the Jbessa gas export pipeline in the al-Arabidi area of southern Hasakah province, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the city of al-Shaddadi.
The damaged pipeline has a diameter of 16 inches and forms part of the infrastructure transporting gas from northeastern Syria toward facilities serving the country’s electricity network.
Company spokesman Oday al-Satouf said technical personnel had shut valves on either side of the affected section to contain the incident. Firefighters and security teams were dispatched to prevent the blaze from spreading and secure the surrounding area.
Authorities did not immediately report casualties or provide an estimate of the damage. The company also did not establish whether gas deliveries had been interrupted or identify those responsible for the explosion.
The incident followed another pipeline emergency earlier Thursday in western Syria. A pipeline carrying petroleum products from Baniyas to Homs was damaged near the village of Hudeida, causing gasoline to leak.
The Syrian Petroleum Company attributed that incident to sabotage intended to steal fuel. Emergency crews closed the affected section, while repair teams worked to stop the leak and restore service. Authorities also temporarily closed the Homs-Tartus highway.
Syria’s energy infrastructure has suffered repeated attacks in recent months.
On September 28, an explosion damaged another section of the Jbessa pipeline near Deir Ezzor, interrupting supplies to electricity-generating facilities. Syrian authorities blamed sabotage and said workers restored service on October 2 after replacing an 18-meter section.
An earlier explosion on the pipeline in August also disrupted gas deliveries to power stations.
The repeated incidents threaten efforts to rebuild Syria’s electricity and fuel networks after years of conflict. In January, authorities began transporting gas from the Jbessa fields toward the Furqlus processing facility in Homs province to support electricity generation.
No connection between Thursday’s two pipeline incidents has been established.
