Syria exported 600,000 barrels of heavy crude oil on Monday from the port of Tartus as part of a deal with a trading firm, a Syrian energy official told Reuters, marking the country’s first official oil export in 14 years.
Syria exported around 380,000 barrels of oil per day in 2010, a year before protests against Bashar al-Assad’s rule spiralled into a nearly 14-year war that devastated the economy and crippled crude production.
Assad was toppled in December last year, and the Islamist-led government that replaced him pledged to revive Syria’s economy.
Riyad al-Joubasi, assistant director for oil and gas at Syria’s energy ministry, said the heavy crude was sold to B Serve Energy, which is linked to global oil trader BB Energy. The ministry added that the shipment left on the Nissos Christiana tanker.
Joubasi said the oil had been drawn from several Syrian fields but did not disclose which ones. Most of Syria’s oil fields lie in the northeast, in territory controlled by Kurdish-led authorities. Those authorities began supplying crude to Damascus in February, but relations have since frayed over concerns about minority rights and political inclusivity.
Oilfields changed hands repeatedly during the war, while U.S. and European sanctions complicated exports and imports. Sanctions remained in place for months after Assad’s ouster, restricting energy access for the new administration.
That changed in June when U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order lifting American sanctions on Syria, paving the way for U.S.-based firms to begin drafting a master plan for oil and gas exploration.
Separately, Syria has signed an $800 million memorandum of understanding with DP World to develop, manage and operate a multi-purpose terminal at Tartus, after scrapping a previous port management contract with a Russian company that had operated under Assad.
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