For the second time in less than a year, ‘terrorist divers’ have targeted Syrian offshore crude pipelines in a bid to sabotage the Syrian government’s ability to import Iranian oil to its coastal refinery at Banias. The attack this week, carried out by unknown opposition forces, appears to have caused a minor oil spill, but Syrian state media say repair work is underway.
A temporary delay to imports is, however, likely – and this will put pressure on Syrian oil stocks. Damascus is struggling to return its domestic oil production after nine years of war (MEES, 17 January), and Iranian imports are vital to meeting the country’s 100,000+ b/d demand for oil products (MEES, 31 May 2019). (CONTINUED - 115 WORDS)