Syria exports its first cargo of crude oil in 14 years

Syria exported 600,000 barrels of heavy crude oil from the port of Tartus on Monday as part of a deal with a trading company, a Syrian energy official said. This is the first known official export of Syrian oil in 14 years. Syria exported 380,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2010, a year before protests against Bashar al-Assad's regime escalated into a nearly 14-year war that has devastated the country’s economy and infrastructure, including crude oil production.

The regime was overthrown last December, and the new government has pledged to revive Syria’s economy. Riyad al-Joubasi, deputy director of oil and gas at Syria’s Energy Ministry, said the heavy crude was sold to B Serve Energy, a company linked to BB Energy, a global oil trading group. The latter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Syrian Energy Ministry said in a statement that the oil was exported on board the tanker Nissos Christiana. Joubasi said it was extracted from several Syrian fields but did not specify which ones.

Most Syrian oil fields are located in the northeast, in areas controlled by the Kurds. The Kurds began supplying oil to the central government in Damascus in February, but relations have since deteriorated due to concerns over inclusion and minority rights, particularly those of the Kurds. Control of the oil fields has changed hands several times during Syria’s war, and U.S. and European sanctions have complicated legitimate exports and imports. The sanctions remained in place for months after the overthrow of the former regime, making imports difficult for the new Syrian administration.

But after then-U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in June lifting American sanctions on Syria, U.S.-based companies began working on a master plan to help explore and extract Syrian oil and gas. Syria also signed an $800 million memorandum of understanding with DP World to develop, manage and operate a multipurpose terminal in Tartus, after canceling a contract with a Russian company that previously operated the port under the Assad regime.