600,000 barrels… Syria exports its first shipment of crude oil in 14 years

Syria exported 600,000 barrels of heavy crude oil on Monday from the port of Tartous under a deal with a trading company, the first known official exports of Syrian oil in 14 years, a Syrian energy official told Reuters.

Damascus was exporting 380,000 barrels of oil per day in 2010, a year before protests against Bashar al-Assad’s rule 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 came to power after him pledged to revive the Syrian economy.

“Bserv Energy is the company that purchased the heavy crude oil,” said Riad Jubasi, deputy director of the General Directorate of Oil and Gas at the Syrian Ministry of Energy. The company has ties to BP Energy, a global oil trading company. BP Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Syrian Ministry of Energy said in a written statement that the oil was exported aboard the tanker “Nissus Christiana.” Jobassi stated 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 of the country, within areas controlled by Kurdish authorities. These authorities began supplying oil to the central government in Damascus in February, but relations have since deteriorated due to various conflicts.

Last June, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order, at the request of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to lift US sanctions on Syria. US-based companies have begun developing a master plan to assist in oil and gas exploration and extraction 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 had been managing the port under Assad