TARTUS, Syria — For the first time in more than a decade, Syria has sent a large shipment of crude oil to foreign markets, a sign of the new government’s efforts to revive an economy shattered by years of conflict.
On Monday, a tanker named Nissos Christiana departed from the port of Tartus carrying 600,000 barrels of heavy crude, according to Syria’s Ministry of Energy.
The shipment was sold to B Serve Energy, a company associated with the international trading firm BB Energy, ministry officials said. BB Energy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The deal represents Syria’s first officially acknowledged oil export since 2010, when the country produced roughly 380,000 barrels a day.
That was before protests against President Bashar al-Assad plunged the nation into a nearly 14-year war that devastated infrastructure, dismantled industries and left its energy sector in ruins.
Assad was removed from power in December of last year. The new Islamist-led administration has promised to restart production and stabilize the economy.
Riyad al-Joubasi, an assistant director at the energy ministry, said the oil loaded this week came from multiple fields inside Syria, but he declined to identify them.
Most of the country’s reserves lie in the northeast, an area controlled by Kurdish-led forces. Those authorities began sending oil to Damascus earlier this year, but relations have grown tense over disputes about political representation and minority rights.
Throughout the war, Syria’s oilfields repeatedly changed hands, while Western sanctions further restricted exports. The restrictions remained in place after Assad’s ouster, leaving the new government struggling to secure energy imports.
That began to change in June, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order lifting American sanctions on Syria, paving the way for U.S.-based companies to develop plans for exploration and production.
In a separate step aimed at reviving trade, Syrian officials have signed an $800 million memorandum with DP World, the Dubai-based logistics group, to develop and manage a multi-purpose terminal in Tartus.
The agreement followed the cancellation of a contract with a Russian company that operated the port during Assad’s rule.
(With files from Reuters)
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