Syria's parliament has approved contracts for oil exploration with two Russian companies in an effort to boost production hit by more than eight years of war and Western sanctions.
State news agency SANA said the deals cover exploration and production in three blocs, including an oilfield in northeast Syria and a gas field north of the capital Damascus.
It said the contracts, passed in a parliament session on Monday, were signed earlier this year with two Russian firms it identified as Mercury LLC and Velada LLC.