May 12 (Reuters) – French oil major TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy and ConocoPhillips ‌have signed a deal with ‌the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) for the ​exploration of the offshore Block 3 area near the Syrian city of Latakia, TotalEnergies said on ‌Tuesday.

The memorandum of ⁠understanding covers a technical review by the companies ⁠and establishes a framework for technical and commercial discussions related ​to exploration ​activities on ​this block, the ‌French company said in a statement.

TotalEnergies had suspended its Syrian operations in 2011 in the wake of EU sanctions related to ‌former President Bashar al-Assad’s ​government.

State-owned SPC said ​on Monday ​it had identified an ‌offshore site for its ​first ​deep-water oil and gas exploration project with U.S. company Chevron ​and ‌Qatar’s UCC holding.

(Reporting by Gianluca ​Lo Nostro, Zakarya Meliani; Editing ​by Milla Nissi-Prussak)