A Syrian energy official told Reuters that Syria exported 600,000 barrels of heavy crude oil from the port of Tartous on Monday, marking the country’s first known official crude oil exports in 14 years.
اضافة اعلان
In 2010, Syria exported 380,000 barrels of oil per day, a year before protests against President Bashar al-Assad turned into a nearly 14-year war that devastated the country’s economy and infrastructure, including crude oil production.
Assad was ousted in December of last year, and the government that took power after him pledged to revive Syria’s economy.
Riyad Joubaasi, Deputy Director of the General Directorate of Oil and Gas at the Syrian Ministry of Energy, told Reuters that the crude oil was purchased by B Serve Energy.
The company is linked to BB Energy, a global oil trading firm, which has yet to respond to requests for comment.
The Syrian Ministry of Energy said in a written statement that the oil was exported aboard the tanker Nissos Christiana.
Joubaasi added that the oil was extracted from several Syrian fields but did not specify which ones.
Most of Syria’s oil fields are located in the northeast, in areas controlled by Kurdish authorities, who began supplying crude to the central government in Damascus last February. However, relations have since deteriorated over concerns related to the exclusion of some societal groups and minority rights, including those of the Kurds.
Control of the oil fields changed hands multiple times during the Syrian war, while U.S. and European sanctions further complicated legitimate export and import operations.
Sanctions remained in effect for several months after Assad’s ouster, making it difficult for Syria’s new administration to import energy.
However, after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in June lifting Washington’s sanctions on Damascus, U.S.-based companies began drafting a master plan to help explore and extract oil and gas in Syria.
Syria also signed an $800 million Memorandum of Understanding with DP World to develop, manage, and operate a multi-purpose terminal in Tartous, after canceling a contract with a Russian company that managed the port under Assad’s rule.
Agencies
