Turkiye seeks involvement in revitalizing Syria's oil, gas sector
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Amid Syria's transitional period and unclear political future, Turkey is rushing to play a role in what is described as the "revival" of Syria's oil and gas infrastructure.
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View of an oil field near the town of Deriq, in a Kurdish area of Syria, near the border with Iraq, on March 2, 2013 (AP)
Turkiye said it wants to help increase oil and natural gas production in Syria, the latest step in Ankara’s overtures for deeper involvement in the reconstruction of the war-torn country, Bloomberg reported on Friday,
According to reports, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar stated on Wednesday that Turkish authorities are exploring ways to address Syria’s electricity needs, following more than a decade of conflict that has severely damaged the country's infrastructure.
Bayraktar said, “We are also studying the use of crude oil and natural gas for reconstruction of Syria. We plan to tell our counterparts how we can make contributions in that sense,” adding, “Our objective is to develop these projects.”
The Bloomberg report notes that Bayraktar's comments reflect Turkiye's intention to play a role in Syria's reconstruction, following the advance led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham on the capital, Damascus, which led to the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is working to maintain friendly relations with groups leading Syria’s interim government, an effort that could position Turkish companies to play a key role in reconstruction and potentially allow some of the 3 million Syrian refugees hosted by Turkey to return home.
According to Bayraktar, long-term cooperation could lead to the construction of new oil and gas pipelines connecting Syria to Turkiye’s export terminals. He also noted that Syria’s current oil output is estimated at just 30,000 barrels per day, roughly 5% of the levels seen two decades ago, based on Turkish estimates, according to Bloomberg.
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Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported on December 19 that Syria's largest oil refinery, Baniyas, has halted operations due to the cessation of crude oil shipments from Iran following the fall of al-Assad.
The refinery, which processes 90,000 to 100,000 barrels of crude daily, produced its last batch of petrol, according to its general manager, Ibrahim Mousallem.
"We are only doing maintenance that takes a short amount of time so that we are ready for when crude oil is made available," Mousallem told FT.
He added that Syria's new leadership has expressed optimism about lifting Western sanctions to facilitate oil imports and secure equipment for refinery repairs.
Under the former government, Syria imported 90% of its crude from Iran, with the remainder sourced domestically amid the US occupation of the country's biggest oil fields in the east. However, the new government is now expected to explore alternative suppliers to address a worsening energy crisis.
Read next: Turkish aggression leaves 7 power stations in N. Syria out of service
