Could a largely forgotten ambition to build a natural gas pipeline linking Qatar in the Gulf with Turkey be rekindled in the wake of the collapse of Syria’s six-decade-old Baath regime?

If built, the Qatar-Turkey mega pipeline infrastructure would deliver a major market development—European Union markets could receive piped Qatari gas, drawn from the world’s largest natural gas field, via a Turkish hub. Qatar has the third largest gas reserves in the world behind Russia and Iran.

Türkiye Today on December 10 reported on the renewed prospects for the Qatar-Turkey pipeline.

The scheme was in 2009 reportedly rejected by Syria’s leader Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Russia at the weekend, and has since not returned to the agenda. At the time of Assad’s rejection, there were some reports that his regime came out against the pipeline in order to protect the interests of ally Russia, which was then Europe's top supplier of natural gas. Russia at various times has pushed the idea of a pipeline running from Iran, via Iraq, to Syria.

Should an administration friendly to Turkey now take root in Syria, the words of former ruler of ally of Turkey, Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who said, ”We are eager to have a gas pipeline from Qatar to Türkiye”, may be remembered.

The original concept for the $10bn, 1,500-kilometre (932-mile) Qatar–Turkey pipeline envisaged gas from Qatar’s part of the vast North Dome/South Pars field in the Gulf (the field is shared with Iran) flowing to Turkey and onwards to Europe. It was to reach Turkey via Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria.

Qatar’s natural gas reserves in the Gulf have been estimated at approximately 896 trillion cubic feet (25.4 trillion cubic metres), equivalent to 14% of the world’s known gas  reserves.

As things stand, Qatari gas reaches Europe as costly liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments that arrive on tankers.

On December 10, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Alparslan Bayraktar, following a cabinet meeting, was asked by local media about the chances of reviving the forgotten Qatar-Turkey pipeline project.

“For a Syria that has achieved unity and stability, why not?” he replied, adding: “If this happens, the route must be secure. Hopefully, it will be, as that is our wish.”

Turkey, not blessed with significant gas reserves of its own, has in recent years stepped up its efforts to create a gas hub that would receive gas from suppliers that might include states including Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran and re-export it to third markets.