Decimated after nearly a decade of war, Damascus is desperately working to restore a fraction of Syria’s 380,000 b/d pre-war crude output in a bid to augment Iranian crude imports with more domestic production and meet growing local consumption (MEES, 31 May 2019).
Al-Furat Petroleum Company (AFPC), a pre-war consortium consisting of the Syrian government, Shell, CNPC and India’s ONGC – now just operated by its state-owned elements due to sanctions – is central to rehabilitation plans. Having restarted production on the west bank of the Euphrates following the recapture of Islamic State-held territory, AFPC has raised output to 2,500 b/d, the firm’s general manager said last week. Current government output estimates remain sketchy, but MEES reckons the figure lies around 20,000 b/d. (CONTINUED - 324 WORDS)
