NICOSIA [MENL] -- Western energy majors have been leaving Syria.

Industry sources said that over the last year, Western oil exploration firms have been ending operations in Syria. They said the firms have been disappointed by the failure to find large amounts of crude oil in the Levant state.

Over the last year, most U.S. energy majors left Syria. They included Conoco-Phillips, Devon Energy and Exxon-Mobil.

Several additional companies were expected to follow. The sources said Canada's Petro-Canada as well as its Western partners were planning to suspend operations at Syria's Kebibe field. In 2003, the Syrian Oil Ministry awarded a project to develop Kebibe to Petro-Canada, Royal Dutch Shell and the U.S. firm Gulfsands Petroleum.