$12 million for fledgling company: Oil contract details

Official documents have revealed that the Syrian Petroleum Company recently signed a negotiated contract worth $12.3 million with Petroleum Services Enhancement Company (PPS), raising questions about the criteria used to award the contract to a company that was only established a few months ago.

A Company with No History... and a Project Worth Millions

PPS was officially registered on November 11, 2024, yet it secured a massive contract—without competition or bidding from other companies—to carry out a complex engineering project in the Al-Taym and Al-Azba oil fields.

The project aims to remove acidic aquifer water that is polluting the environment, soil, and groundwater. This is a task that typically requires accumulated expertise and a proven track record, not something a newly established company with barely dry paperwork could handle.

"Exceptional" Privileges

Not only was the contract awarded, but the company also secured very "comfortable" payment terms:

- Advance Payment: The Syrian Petroleum Company will pay 50% of the contract value (approximately $6.1 million) in advance!

- Study Authority: The company itself was tasked with preparing the engineering study that will determine the implementation plan and specifications, effectively making the contractor the arbiter in determining the quality and costs of the work.

Articles (5) and (11) of the contract, which Zaman al-Wasl reviewed, place the contractor in a position of power. It is responsible for "implementing" the terms and executing the required study, with the stipulation that any materials outside its approved study will be at its own expense.

This overlap between "designer" and "executor" opens the door for the project to be engineered in accordance with the contractor's financial interests, especially given the absence of any mention of an independent consulting firm for auditing.

This contract comes at a time when stricter oversight of investment budgets is supposed to be in place.

The contract was signed by Youssef Mohammed Qablawi, CEO of the Syrian Petroleum Company, and Iyad Mohammed Khair Al-Aghbar, General Manager of PPS.

There is no explicit mention of the contractor providing bank guarantees (such as a performance bond or advance payment guarantee) before work begins, which is noteworthy given the size of the contract and the advance payment.

($1 dollar =12,900 Syrian pounds)