Russia remains Syria’s top oil supplier and has even boosted its sales so far this year despite the fact that the Middle Eastern country emerged from a 14-year-long civil war leaning West and deposing Russia-backed leader Bashar al-Assad.
Syria’s imports of oil from Russia have jumped by about 75% so far this year compared to the estimated 2025 average, according to Reuters calculations and vessel-monitoring data.
Last year, Russia delivered a total of 16.8 million barrels of oil to Syria, equal to about 46,000 bpd, one of the Syrian officials who spoke to Reuters said.
This year, the estimated daily imports of Russian oil into Syria are about 60,000 bpd year to date, according to calculations and analyses by Reuters.
Nearly two dozen tankers, all of which are under Western sanctions, have been regularly shipping oil from Russia into Syria, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Reuters.
The development is a risk for Syria’s new leadership, which has just seen the U.S. and the other Western countries drop sanctions against Syria for the first time in decades, following the ousting of al-Assad.
If the U.S. somehow decides to punish Russia for not cooperating for peace in Ukraine, it could demand Syria halt Russian oil imports, Syrian economist Karam Shaar told Reuters.
Syria’s reliance on Russian oil is not for a lack of trying. Syria unsuccessfully sought to reach an oil supply deal with Turkey, an official at the state Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) told Reuters.
While Syria relies on Russian oil imports, it is courting Western companies to develop its oil and gas sector, which has been left in disarray during the civil war.
Syria expects to award oil and gas exploration licenses to major international oil firms as it looks to tap its estimated huge reserves, the chief executive of the state-owned Syrian Petroleum Company told the Financial Times in February.
Syria is tapping U.S. firms Chevron and ConocoPhillips and European majors TotalEnergies and Eni to help it drill for oil and gas and revive the country’s hydrocarbon industry, Youssef Qablawi, CEO of Syrian Petroleum Company, told FT.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
- Tankers Move from Fuel to Crude Trade as War Upends Flows
- JP Morgan: UAE Could Attract More U.S. Investment After OPEC Exit
- ENEOS Takes 10% Stake in Malaysia LNG Tiga in New Deal With Petronas
