By: AGBI

Syria exported 600,000 barrels of heavy crude oil on Monday from the port of Tartous as part of a deal with a trading company, a Syrian energy official told Reuters, the first known official export of Syrian oil in 14 years.

Syria exported 380,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil in 2010, a year before protests against Bashar al-Assad’s rule spiralled into a nearly 14-year war that devastated the country’s economy and infrastructure, including crude production.

Assad was toppled in December last year and the Islamist-led government that replaced him pledged to revive Syria’s economy.

Riyad Al-Joubasi, assistant director for oil and gas at Syria’s energy ministry, told Reuters the heavy crude oil had been sold to B Serve Energy.

B Serve is linked to BB Energy, which describes itself as a global oil trading company with headquarters in Dubai and London and trading offices in six countries. BB Energy did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Syria’s energy ministry said in a written statement the oil was exported on the Nissos Christiana tanker.

Al-Joubasi said it had been extracted from several Syrian fields but did not say which ones.

Most Syrian oil fields lie in the northeast, in territory held by Kurdish-led authorities. Those authorities began providing oil to the central government in Damascus in February, but ties have deteriorated since then over fears about inclusivity and rights for minorities, including Kurds.

But after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in June to lift US sanctions on Syria, US-based companies began developing a master plan to help explore and extract Syrian oil and gas.

Syria has also signed an $800 million memorandum of understanding with DP World to develop, manage and operate a multi-purpose terminal at Tartous, after Syria canceled a contract with a Russian firm that had operated the port under Assad.