Irish independent Petrel Resources has tied its fortunes in Syria to a production-sharing agreement for the East Safawi block, where Jordanian authorities intend to spend $2.5 billion.

King Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom himself blessed a ceremony marking a deal for which Petrel will drill three exploration wells over three years in 2008 or 2009 after seismic and studies.

East Safawi in the Arabian Desert adjoins the producing gas field at Risha and other oil producing blocks in Syria. The oil targets are in shallow formations with well-established gas plays at depth, a statement said.

Jordanian production-sharing terms give the contractor 60 percent of oil production, or gas equivalent — up to 10,000 barrels per day — ”with a sliding scale to a 35 percent share of production over 100,000 boed.

An Arab gas pipeline project for anticipated volumes is said to be well advanced, with flows seen to Turkish and European grids.