Media outlets reported the shutdown of Syria’s largest oil refinery following the halt of Iranian oil exports, noting that the majority of Syria’s oil imports came from Iran.
According to a report by the Financial Times on Thursday, December 19, the Baniyas refinery, located near the port of Baniyas in Syria, has a daily production capacity of 130,000 barrels of petroleum derivatives and fuel. Ninety percent of its input came from Iran, and Iranian oil exports to Syria have stopped following the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
This report follows earlier news that, after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government, an Iranian oil tanker en route to Syria changed course midway and returned.
This report was also published by the maritime analytics firm Kepler, which stated that the tanker Lotus, carrying one million barrels of Iranian oil, altered its course toward the southern Red Sea before entering the Suez Canal on December 8.
According to Kepler, the tanker, flying the flag of the Iranian regime, had loaded the oil from Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf.
Reports indicate that since the beginning of the current calendar year, Iran’s regime has exported nearly 19 million barrels of crude oil to Syria over the past 11 months.
Following this suspension, Ibrahim Moslem, the manager of the Baniyas refinery, told the Financial Times: “Before the fall of Bashar al-Assad, 90% of Syria’s imported oil came from Iran. Iranian oil shipments to the Baniyas refinery have stopped.”
According to Ibrahim Moslem, members of Syria’s new government informed him that they anticipate sanctions on Syria will be lifted, allowing the country to import oil from sources other than Iran.
The Russian news site RT reported, citing Iranian media, that Iran exported approximately 60,000 barrels of oil per day to Syria at a price of $50 per barrel, amounting to $1 billion annually.
According to reports, Iran’s oil exports to Syria from 2011 to 2024 totaled $14 billion.
