The Syrian authorities plan to switch public transport and taxis from gasoline to CNG amid an oil deficit in the country, reported Al-Watan newspaper. According to sources in the state-run fuel distribution company, a plan to introduce control over the consumption of gas and fuel oil by public transport and taxis using GPS tracking is also reportedly in the works.
The goals of these two projects include the reduction of imports and demand for foreign currency, tracking smugglers and counterfeit oil products, as well as the reduction of air pollution in cities. There are sufficient natural gas resources in central Syria, and the country expects to produce more on its Mediterranean shore in the future.
To implement the project, building more CNG stations and installing equipment on cars is necessary. Trial projects were already being implemented in Syria before the war.
Two gas fields producing a total of 1 million cubic meters of gas per day were put into operation east of the Syrian city of Homs and this should improve the situation with the country’s electricity supply, the Syrian Oil Ministry Suleiman al-Abbas said.
The gasoline crisis in Syria erupted in early April. At peak times, queues at gasoline stations in Damascus reached about 300 cars, with similar situations seen in other cities. Subsequently, the authorities raised gasoline prices and imposed restrictions on the purchase of fuel.
