Syrian Oil Minister Ghiath Diab confirmed that the former regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad had a complete monopoly on the oil sector, which affected the efficiency and independence of this vital sector.
Diab pointed out in a statement to the official Syrian news agency SANA that public tenders were launched to import oil and its derivatives with the aim of enhancing competitiveness and transparency.
He said, "We issued public tenders to import oil and its derivatives, to achieve efficiency in importing and create a competitive environment in Syria, seeking to make the oil sector in Syria highly transparent and gain everyone's trust, unlike the time of the ousted regime that monopolized it for itself."
Syria's oil resources are concentrated in the northeastern regions, especially Hasakah, and along the Euphrates River in the east up to the Iraqi border near Deir ez-Zor, in addition to smaller fields in the south of Raqqa. As for gas, it is extracted mainly from the central regions up to Palmyra.
The deposed regime imposed unfair rationing on the distribution of petroleum derivatives to citizens, while the quantities it imported from Russia and Iran were sufficient for the needs of the market.
Ahmed Suleiman , the media officer of the Oil ministry, told Sham FM radio that the regime created the black market to increase its profits, because all the revenues from petroleum derivatives went to his family, noting that they are in the process of developing a comprehensive plan to manage the petroleum derivatives file, whether coming from local production or through imports.
The Director of Public Relations and Media stated that the Ministry of Oil suffers from administrative slackness and great corruption, and the number of employees is about 30 thousand employees, a large percentage of whom are unemployed, noting that during the rule of the defunct regime, the Ministry of Oil had no effectiveness or role on the ground, and the role was for the private offices of the Assad family.
Suleiman explained that a gas tanker was imported to the port of Baniyas from private companies and was unloaded, indicating that they are working in the ministry so that the import of derivatives is open to all public and private companies.
He added that the distribution of heating oil has been suspended until the situation of petroleum derivatives improves, while the distribution of domestic gas will continue on the smart card, due to the lack of sufficient quantities of gas cylinders to meet the market's needs.
Regarding the situation of the Homs refinery, the Director of Public Relations and Media at the Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources said that the refinery is dilapidated and is operating at a minimum level due to the lack of maintenance for a long time, adding, "If it was operating at its maximum level, it would have saved part of the local production."
As for the Baniyas refinery, it stopped operating after the fall of the regime, due to the cessation of importing Iranian oil, and now it is undergoing periodic maintenance called Umrah, for up to six months, and we are waiting for there to be an import for the refinery to operate.
Regarding the situation of new oil explorations and extraction, Suleiman concluded that the regime has not carried out any extraction operations for nearly 20 years, but in the coming days there will be new explorations, in cooperation with exploration companies.
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