LONDON: Two fuel tankers carrying a combined total of nearly 70,000 tonnes of diesel and liquefied gas arrived on Monday at Baniyas terminal in Syria, as transitional authorities in the country seek to stabilize domestic fuel supplies.
The shipments included 64,324 tonnes of diesel and 5,620.3 tonnes of liquefied gas, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
The state-owned Syrian Petroleum Company said it had started the process of connecting the vessels to terminal facilities and transferring the cargo to storage tanks after completing technical procedures.
The deliveries come as the Energy Ministry pushes to secure steady flows of fuel following supply shortages and a surge in demand triggered by recent price cuts.
In late June, after a review of the technical and economic indicators affecting the petroleum market, Energy Minister Mohammed Al-Bashir approved a recommendation for a reduction in fuel prices by between 14 and 20 percent. The cut was designed to ease pressure on consumers but reportedly contributed to a spike in consumption.
To meet the rising demand, the ministry this month said it had dispatched 407 shipments of gasoline and 639 shipments of diesel nationwide, with the total allocations exceeding 25 million liters.
Officials said longer-term plans include increased domestic production, expansion of refinery capacity and rehabilitation of storage facilities damaged during the civil war in the country, SANA reported.
Beyond the immediate supply efforts, Syria’s evolving energy strategy is increasingly tied to regional cooperation.
Iraq recently approved plans for a memorandum of understanding with Syria to build an oil pipeline linking Iraqi production sites to Mediterranean export routes, as part of Baghdad’s broader push to diversify export channels for crude.
The Iraqi cabinet authorized the director general of Basra Oil Company to sign the agreement with Syria’s Energy Ministry, according to a statement about a series of energy-related decisions on July 25.
Recent shipping activity underscores the growing importance of this export route. Reuters reported on July 23 that Iraqi oil transported through Syria had been exported to the US for the first time.
These shipments reportedly reflected efforts to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed for months amid the war between Iran and the US.
According to Kpler data on maritime shipments and logistics, as well as sources at terminals, three Aframax tankers offloaded fuel oil originating from Iraq at Baniyas in June and July for delivery to the US Gulf Coast. Shipping data also shows that Iraqi fuel oil exported via Baniyas was delivered to countries across the Mediterranean, including Spain and Egypt.
