SYRIANNEWS — broadcast
20260920 100000 UTC
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[00:00:00] The reclaimed oil fields were received from January 18 to 19,
[00:00:05] 5.3 from the north, from 2016. A group of the most prominent fields in Raqqa and Deir
[00:00:07] God willing, by the end of the month, by the end of this ez-Zor were received in March 2026. Entry was made
[00:00:10] into the Hasakah area, and of course you know
[00:00:15] So there is a regasification the Syrian Petroleum Company from closing wells and bringing new wells into the settlement that took place east of the Euphrates, and there were accredited companies
[00:00:18] in the development of fields and wells. Unfortunately, within the capabilities
[00:00:21] that were available to the engineers and technicians who were working there, the condition
[00:00:25] of the wells and the safety measures were very bad.
[00:00:28] priority in buying oil from this We used to produce 140 thousand on, I mean, regarding the statements
[00:00:32] about how it was 140 and today 1000 or
[00:00:36] around 144. Of course,
[00:00:38] 140 million cubic we used to produce about 14,000 barrels. Of course, people, there's no, I mean, there's no, for example, today I'm saying
[00:00:42] 14,000 or today we are producing
[00:00:45] Homs. We changed many 10,000 or 13,000, meaning tomorrow it must be 13,000, it could be
[00:00:48] discussing with many 100,000, it could be
[00:00:50] countries and companies to secure this 11,000. I mean, a few days ago, when fuel prices were raised,
[00:00:52] you saw road closures, crude oil stopped coming here. The tanks we used
[00:00:56] to fill stopped. Some wells stopped production, and production dropped to
[00:01:01] so it's natural when I say today's production is 98,000, and the day before it was
[00:01:05] and other things, like removing 108, today 144. So this
[00:01:08] is not a contradiction in statements. We reached a stage where it was 14,000.
[00:01:11] We stopped about 70 wells in one area, about
[00:01:15] 170, 172 wells in one of the fields due to
[00:01:19] safety and the safety of its workers were at large water intrusion and due to radioactive materials, and due to formation water
[00:01:22] that used to reach a river called in that area the River of Death,
[00:01:26] and it is known to the people of the area due to
[00:01:28] radiation. The area of Al-Jardha, in my meeting
[00:01:32] with some dignitaries of that area, they mentioned to me that there are about 100 cases of cancer
[00:01:37] Syrian Petroleum Company, now due to 250 million per month, pollution, burning, and poor extraction
[00:01:41] of oil, in addition to excessive extraction and formation water and sand that used to
[00:01:46] 6 million cubic meters of come out with the oil,
[00:01:47] that were producing the oil. Therefore, many wells were closed for rehabilitation
[00:01:50] and evaluation, after which, God willing, we will operate them
[00:01:54] in a way that ensures occupational safety
[00:01:56] and we buy one million cubic meters of and the safety of our people in
[00:01:58] gas from Aqaba, from the region. The most prominent challenges in the sector.
[00:02:01] Sustainability of production, securing crude oil for
[00:02:03] and chemicals and spare parts
[00:02:07] and so on. Of course, people, just so you know, honorable members of parliament,
[00:02:11] when we entered
[00:02:13] system? Okay, Syria, all of Syria's
[00:02:16] 6.3 million cubic meters of warehouses were empty, meaning we have no conversion stations, we have no
[00:02:18] low or high voltage transformers for electricity, we have no
[00:02:22] valves or spare parts or pipelines or anything
[00:02:25] that we could use in developing fields or stations.
[00:02:29] I mean, today, if a transformer is hit, for example,
[00:02:32] in the Damascus countryside, we have to wait to go
[00:02:36] and buy one, okay, until we install it
[00:02:39] again. This is one of
[00:02:42] is no longer in the reasons mentioned
[00:02:44] amounts were 3.2. Half of this by some members of parliament regarding the issue of why we sometimes enter
[00:02:47] into direct agreements, because if I want to go and tender for the purchase of ten transformers, I have to
[00:02:51] leave a neighborhood without electricity for two months until we conduct
[00:02:55] the tender, and an international tender takes 50 days, and the bids are evaluated and awarded, and so
[00:02:59] budget to provide us with the full cost on. So sometimes you are forced to write a justification memo
[00:03:02] in order to enter into a direct agreement, such as with the formation water that
[00:03:07] world. Many countries in the world, in was about to reach the Euphrates River. The governor of Deir ez-Zor,
[00:03:09] Mr. Ghassan, previously, before the new governor, Mr. Ziad, told us that
[00:03:12] polluted water at a depth of 300 meters will reach
[00:03:16] the Euphrates River, and this will cause an environmental disaster even the United Nations sent some pictures
[00:03:20] that it's a problem, so we had to enter into a direct agreement with a company to
[00:03:23] build tanks and pump the water and reinject it into the wells
[00:03:27] in order to avoid reaching a critical point in polluting the Euphrates
[00:03:30] River, and this will be a very big problem for drinking water
[00:03:34] and the people and residents in the area. The machinery
[00:03:37] and services are dilapidated, like other
[00:03:39] are 312,000 cubic meters of
[00:03:40] even we can't find it. The brother who asked about sectors, like other ministries. Some
[00:03:41] diesel and 188,000 of ministries have updated some machinery, and some ministries are still running on
[00:03:44] machinery, perhaps the newest car from 2005, as it was in the Ministry
[00:03:47] of Electricity. I mean, after the Syrian Electricity Company
[00:03:50] and the digital transformation, there is no data, no
[00:03:53] database in Syria, unfortunately. I mean, we received it,
[00:03:56] you have to go and conduct new studies, and the procedures
[00:04:01] need for oil derivatives. were also very difficult, and the issue of allocating foreign currency
[00:04:04] and the central bank, this was a challenge for the ministry regarding purchasing, as
[00:04:08] are dilapidated, and the people of Aleppo know this one of the honorable members of parliament mentioned, the issue of the question about
[00:04:12] the reserve. The reserve needs
[00:04:14] specialists know what it means to stop
[00:04:14] 950 megawatts, and distribute it to money, it needs foreign currency, it needs rehabilitation of tanks, it needs
[00:04:17] to buy tanks. God willing, we will mention it in the context
[00:04:21] of the presentation. Oil and gas production development,
[00:04:24] There are no spare parts as we mentioned earlier, the oil that started at 7,000 reached a period of time, and it was very ready,
[00:04:28] meaning our first entry into the region was 135 to
[00:04:31] 14,000, then it returned and settled at around
[00:04:34] 11,000, decreasing
[00:04:37] and increasing, 112, 10,800, 10,7 according to
[00:04:41] the well and production and transportation situation. This is an issue that, God willing,
[00:04:44] we will delve into shortly.
[00:04:47] Gas production development, also, gas production was around 6
[00:04:51] million cubic meters of gas. Of course, Syria's gas needs are 24
[00:04:55] thing. Our need is 24 million. million cubic meters. To operate all our currently
[00:04:58] ready stations, we need 24 million cubic meters of
[00:05:02] gas. We will get to that, God willing. Today we are producing 6 million, meaning
[00:05:07] The first step will be from our brothers in a quarter. Sorry, we were producing 6, we raised it to 8.1 after we brought part of the Conoco plant
[00:05:11] online. Of course, yesterday it was 8.
[00:05:13] When we prepared the presentation, when we started it, from Wednesday
[00:05:17] and Thursday it was 8. Yesterday it was 8.4 or 8.5
[00:05:20] million cubic meters. Before that, it reached 9 million, according to the same story as oil,
[00:05:26] service, reactivating drilling operations. We drilled about
[00:05:30] four, 4840 meters, and we brought two drilling rigs into service after they
[00:05:33] were idle and stopped. 21 wells were
[00:05:37] repaired, 152 wells were operated, ten new wells were brought into production,
[00:05:41] they were drilled and brought into production. This is the balance of
[00:05:44] need, and this is a very
[00:05:47] important point, the balance of need for Syria. We
[00:05:50] need about 300 thousand barrels
[00:05:52] of crude oil daily. We need 300 thousand
[00:05:56] barrels of crude oil daily to cover Syria's needs.
[00:06:00] I mentioned previously, from last year, that when
[00:06:04] the ministry was first established, we had 150 thousand
[00:06:06] barrels, okay? I mean, it used to cover our needs. We buy crude
[00:06:09] oil and refine it in our refineries. Baniyas was operating, and Homs
[00:06:13] refinery was operating. From the refinery's production, we cover the local market, and this was
[00:06:17] when Syria's consumption was 15,000. The entire eastern Euphrates region
[00:06:21] did not, I mean, did not take oil derivatives from us. Hasakah
[00:06:23] and Deir ez-Zor east of the Euphrates, in addition to Raqqa, and in addition to
[00:06:27] a large part of Aleppo, were not taking oil derivatives from the
[00:06:31] 150 thousand barrels. A part was coming from the eastern
[00:06:35] Euphrates region to the burning facilities. Smuggling and other activities were taking place. This was also
[00:06:38] not included in our statistics for the 150 thousand barrels we were talking about.
[00:06:42] We are repeating it, it is 15,000. Of course, our needs grew
[00:06:46] and increased significantly for several reasons. Firstly, the inclusion of these areas
[00:06:49] within our areas, so they started taking
[00:06:52] oil derivatives through the Ministry, Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and so on.
[00:06:56] Secondly, stopping the burning facilities
[00:06:59] oil that was coming to us from the eastern Euphrates region, which was
[00:07:03] supplying the market, even if it was a percentage from five to 10% depending on
[00:07:07] winter and summer and so on. The third thing is the growth of demand.
[00:07:11] I mean, today, the industrial city in Aleppo started with 900 factories and reached 1500.
[00:07:15] These need energy, they need diesel and fuel for operation.
[00:07:19] The number of cars that were in Syria in
[00:07:22] 2025 was two and a half million cars.
[00:07:26] Today, the number of cars is 3.6 million
[00:07:29] cars, 1,100,000 cars increased during this year. This all
[00:07:32] means fuel consumption is doubling. Imagine from 2.5 million to
[00:07:36] 3.6, how big is that gap that needs to be closed?
[00:07:39] All of this led to a growth in demand from 100%
[00:07:43] barrels one day, we didn't talk about it, to 30,000 barrels. Of course, this
[00:07:45] 30,000 might decrease a little in spring, okay? I mean, it might become 270
[00:07:49] thousand, 280,000, and it might reach 325 to
[00:07:52] 350 thousand barrels in winter.
[00:07:56] Okay, the average need is 30,000 barrels.
[00:08:00] Here, I also want to explain a very important issue: Syria's
[00:08:03] production capacity of refineries in Syria. How many
[00:08:07] refineries? Homs and Baniyas, before the shutdown for comprehensive maintenance, were
[00:08:10] about 9,000 to 10,000
[00:08:12] barrels per day, and Homs refinery was about 40 to 50,000 barrels per day. So we used to
[00:08:16] produce an average of 15,000 barrels
[00:08:19] per day. We bring 15,000 barrels, 30,000
[00:08:22] barrels is our need. Part of it is local production, and part of it
[00:08:26] is imports, so we take it to the refinery.
[00:08:30] These refineries refine 15,000 barrels.
[00:08:33] The remaining 15,000 barrels, what do I do? We buy oil derivatives.
[00:08:37] We buy diesel and gasoline equivalent
[00:08:41] to 15,000 barrels. Equivalent to 100, meaning if I
[00:08:44] had a refining capacity of 30,000 barrels, there would be no need
[00:08:47] to buy derivatives. I would buy 30,000 barrels, or local production of 100
[00:08:51] thousand, and buy 20,000, okay? I would refine them here, and it would cover the market. There would be
[00:08:55] no need to buy derivatives. However, our refining capacity is
[00:08:58] 150 thousand barrels, so we cannot cover
[00:09:02] the market's need for oil derivatives without importing diesel
[00:09:05] and gasoline. Therefore, our need is 15,000.
[00:09:08] We can cover this, God willing, after Baniyas refinery returns to
[00:09:12] operation. Our local production, as we mentioned, at the time of preparing this report, was
[00:09:15] 112,000. So we have a gap of about 20,000 barrels, which
[00:09:19] is the purchase of crude oil. Of course, now we come
[00:09:23] to another issue. There is a contradiction in statements because one of
[00:09:27] the statements says Syria exports oil, and a video clip came out at the end showing a shipment of oil
[00:09:30] leaving. True, Syria is now said to produce 100,000
[00:09:34] barrels, 11,000 barrels. This
[00:09:37] 100,000 barrels is heavy oil
[00:09:41] that cannot be refined in Baniyas refinery. Baniyas refinery is designed
[00:09:44] to refine light oil.
[00:09:47] We currently produce 20-25 thousand barrels of light oil. We take this
[00:09:51] to Baniyas refinery, and then we buy another 10,000 barrels
[00:09:54] from the market, or a little less, to operate
[00:09:58] its capacity. Tomorrow, we will buy more, but it became 13,000.
[00:10:02] The rest of Homs refinery works with heavy oil. So, out of the 8,000 barrels
[00:10:05] of heavy oil produced, we take 5,000 to Homs refinery. How much
[00:10:09] is left? 3,000 barrels. These are collected
[00:10:12] in our warehouses, in our tanks. We keep collecting them until they become a shipment,
[00:10:16] and then we export them because we don't have refining capacity.
[00:10:19] And these are the same ones that I stopped exporting currently. I will take
[00:10:22] them to the local electric refineries to produce
[00:10:26] diesel. Of course, local electric refineries are not economically
[00:10:30] viable and are not environmentally viable and cause great harm.
[00:10:33] Therefore, this step that some members of parliament mentioned,
[00:10:37] saying why didn't you take this step as a solution? Of course, it's easy for someone to say, why didn't we
[00:10:40] take it as a solution from the beginning? Someone sent me a video clip saying, brother, why didn't you take
[00:10:44] this as a solution? This, as one of the members of parliament mentioned, hitting
[00:10:48] the nail on the head, this issue will lead to
[00:10:52] fraud, and we, when there was a crisis for four days
[00:10:55] with gasoline, 172 violations were
[00:10:58] recorded at stations. So this will cause fraud, it will cause mixing, and we will have a very
[00:11:02] big challenge in monitoring. It's not easy for you to introduce three materials. Therefore, we were not
[00:11:06] going for this option. We did not have the second material, which was 150
[00:11:09] pounds, that we set. We were
[00:11:15] type of material. There was no, I mean, when we raised prices, no party
[00:11:18] agreed to export this material. Then, thank God, we were able to secure this material
[00:11:22] after the prices, and you only offer the improved
[00:11:25] one, which we set at 115 pounds in the market. There will only be pressure on it
[00:11:29] and problems. So when you offer another material, it will relieve pressure on
[00:11:32] everyone. So this was the solution we started with from the beginning, before
[00:11:36] pricing, but we didn't find the tools for it and we couldn't implement it
[00:11:39] until after we were able, I mean, after we raised
[00:11:43] the oil derivatives, which
[00:11:45] are still subsidized, and we will mention
[00:11:49] the numbers, God willing, and what the honorable members of parliament requested regarding
[00:11:52] the pricing equation, God willing, we will get to it. Okay, the gas balance is also the same
[00:11:56] thing. Our need is 24 million, our production is 6 million,
[00:11:59] 8.1. Currently, it is around
[00:12:03] 8 or 8.4. It varies, around 8.5 million. Let's
[00:12:06] fix it at around 8.5 million. We have around
[00:12:11] gas, or 6.3 more accurately, is what we are currently
[00:12:15] buying. We buy gas 5.3 from the north, from
[00:12:18] Azerbaijan to Turkey,
[00:12:23] Jordan, from Aqaba. There is a ship here, anyway, from Jordan. Jordan does not have gas; it is an importer.
[00:12:26] So there is a regasification ship that converts
[00:12:29] liquefied natural gas (LNG) into gas, which then pumps
[00:12:33] it into the Arab Gas Pipeline. We receive it in Syria and transfer it to
[00:12:36] power plants, the Deir Ali plant, where electricity is generated. So I am practically buying
[00:12:41] gas daily. I am paying, before gas prices rose, we were not
[00:12:44] paying this amount. We are currently paying around
[00:12:48] 140 million cubic meters of
[00:12:51] 140 million dollars, the cost of gas for these 6
[00:12:55] cubic meters per month. This 140 million is the cost of
[00:12:59] gas for generation. 140 million. Of course, part of it was
[00:13:02] a grant from Qatar, and we are grateful, but the grant ended
[00:13:05] in August, and these
[00:13:09] gas was a grant, and the other half was purchased. Now it's all purchased, we are buying
[00:13:13] it all and paying for it. That's why when the fuel crisis happened recently
[00:13:17] and gas prices rose significantly, the Ministry of Finance did not allocate
[00:13:20] in its
[00:13:24] of this gas. So it will reduce, I mean, it will reduce our gas purchases. We might
[00:13:27] cut 2 to 3 million in purchases during the coming period. Of course, this
[00:13:31] will affect generation, it will affect the number of connection hours
[00:13:35] for electricity because the Ministry of
[00:13:37] Finance does not have the capacity to finance because basically
[00:13:40] we used to contribute to the treasury around
[00:13:43] 250 million per month, okay? As a
[00:13:47] Syrian Petroleum Company, now last month, we asked them
[00:13:50] to cover our deficit. We started paying for gas and fuel, which is losing
[00:13:54] significantly. So they said we do not have the capacity to cover
[00:13:57] your deficit. Okay? The Ministry of Finance said, I don't have the capacity to cover your deficit. So I am
[00:14:01] faced with choices. Either we live in a fuel crisis, meaning that's it,
[00:14:05] I buy whatever money I have and that's it. We live with fuel
[00:14:08] and diesel and gasoline crises, or I completely stop
[00:14:12] buying gas, completely stop these 6 million, from the south and from the north, and electricity returns
[00:14:16] to two to three hours. This is 8 million, and this is the system that used to operate. He says
[00:14:19] that the electricity tariff was cheap. How was the
[00:14:23] system? Okay,
[00:14:25] and this is the solution. The system was producing 6 million. Now we have a little over eight
[00:14:29] that is sent to the power plants. This quantity is sent to the power plants.
[00:14:32] It burns gas and generates electricity. It used to generate
[00:14:36] 950 megawatts from this gas,
[00:14:39] people. In winter, it would come for one to two hours. When we entered Damascus, electricity used to come
[00:14:43] for two hours. When we returned,
[00:14:46] we started buying gas and rehabilitated the stations and increased
[00:14:49] our local production until electricity reached this point. I can stop the gas,
[00:14:53] burn the same amount of gas, and it's fine. I don't have any costs.
[00:14:57] So electricity remains cheap and subsidized and so on. But this cannot
[00:15:00] build an energy sector, nor can we reach a point because I have cities.
[00:15:04] We have industrial cities, long and wide, that we are supplying with electricity 24 hours a day.
[00:15:08] They consume more than this. They are consuming about 40% of the energy. Industrial
[00:15:12] and commercial cities, meaning industrial and commercial consumption, are 40% of the energy. So if
[00:15:16] I reduce this, all the factories that have reopened in Syria will
[00:15:19] close again. And this will give a very bad impression
[00:15:23] عند الصناعيين وعند ف بدلا النمو الاقتصادي ما
[00:15:27] كان المنحني البيان وفيه تصاعد رح يوقف ولا رح ينزل لانه
[00:15:30] as we mentioned, for the
[00:15:33] economy. Refineries and refining. We mentioned that Baniyas refinery's nominal capacity
[00:15:37] is about 130,000 barrels. Homs refinery
[00:15:41] currently produces between 30 and 40 thousand.
[00:15:45] month, it will reach 50,000. We have a upgrading unit that has problems. Homs refinery
[00:15:48] is very old and dilapidated. The opinion of
[00:15:52] the beginning, when it was established, was to close it because it was not economically viable.
[00:15:55] So I was, I mean, I insisted on preserving it
[00:15:59] initially, and then we agreed on this idea of preserving it initially
[00:16:03] because it represents energy security. It can refine the heavy oil we have in
[00:16:06] Syria. In case of crises, by God's will, we returned to a crisis and found the importance of Homs refinery
[00:16:10] despite its poor technical condition. However, it represents energy
[00:16:14] security for Syria. We will not close it until we can prepare new
[00:16:18] refineries that cover the local need for oil derivatives.
[00:16:21] The reasons for Baniyas's maintenance. One of
[00:16:25] the honorable members of parliament asked me if it was necessary, could we have
[00:16:29] postponed it? Baniyas's maintenance was already postponed. It operated
[00:16:32] 99 shutdowns during the revolution. I mean,
[00:16:36] specialists know what it means to stop a facility and restart it, and to stop
[00:16:40] a facility that has deteriorated significantly. It did not undergo
[00:16:43] rehabilitation. There were sanctions, and the regime did not carry out rehabilitation.
[00:16:47] There are no spare parts for the refinery. It is working,
[00:16:51] I mean, the technicians described it to me as a ticking
[00:16:54] time bomb. And finally, occupational
[00:16:57] stake, and finally, they gave me a paper because I delayed it so much, because
[00:17:00] of the crisis, crisis, crisis. We delayed it so much, hoping
[00:17:04] that the crisis of supply chains and procurement would be resolved, and so on. They
[00:17:07] told me, please write a paper that it is
[00:17:10] your responsibility for the safety of its workers and the safety
[00:17:13] of the facility so that we can continue. Otherwise, we cannot continue.
[00:17:17] No, ultimately, the safety of its workers and occupational safety and the safety
[00:17:21] of the facility are our priority. Therefore, we shut it down, and we made a decision to shut it down. It was
[00:17:24] a purely technical decision 100%. Exceeding the design life of many
[00:17:28] equipment. The maintenance deteriorated severely in
[00:17:31] the internal channels. The refinery did not undergo
[00:17:34] any maintenance during the past period. Increased. The probabilities
[00:17:38] of breakdowns and shutdowns made maintenance necessary to improve
[00:17:41] its efficiency. Also, I mean, it is already producing 9,000. Why don't I make it 130
[00:17:45] to reduce the burden on me? Also, many reasons prompted us
[00:17:48] to shut down Baniyas refinery, and we were actually late in doing so. We
[00:17:52] signed contracts with the company that will carry out the rehabilitation from the beginning
[00:17:55] of summer, because maintenance of such facilities is always in the summer, not in the winter,
[00:17:59] because of shutdowns and breakdowns. We should have started in early summer. We delayed
[00:18:03] it to solve the issue of the Strait of Hormuz and the war in Ukraine and Russia, and so on.
[00:18:09] And derivatives, but we couldn't. We reached a critical stage, so we
[00:18:12] shut down Baniyas refinery. And here I want to point out that
[00:18:16] today, the issue of energy
[00:18:19] the world a crisis of supply chains and procurement
[00:18:23] and routes and the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb and so on. It has become
[00:18:26] complex. I have a problem with supply and procurement in roads
[00:18:29] and straits and transit and the supply of materials. This is
[00:18:33] one, this is a problem. Problem two is the refining
[00:18:37] problem. If you look at the world, we have a refining crisis. Russia's refineries were hit,
[00:18:40] which used to refine and sell derivatives to the entire
[00:18:44] Kuwait and the Gulf states, also have many refineries that were affected. So we have a refining
[00:18:48] crisis in the world. Therefore, people, there is no link
[00:18:51] and connection between the price of oil, Brent, which is 103 this morning,
[00:18:55] 103 dollars, and the derivative. How much is the price of a ton of diesel
[00:18:59] today? 1570 dollars. Imagine, there is no link between
[00:19:03] a ton, between the price of Brent barrel and a ton
[00:19:06] of fuel oil. Normally, when Brent is 103, 104, 105, how much is
[00:19:10] a ton of fuel oil? 1100, 1150, 1050.
[00:19:13] Today it's 1570 because there's high demand,
[00:19:17] tenders, where are the tenders? We are actually buying it at auctions at sea.
[00:19:21] Diesel is currently being bought at auctions. I mean, today,
[00:19:24] the auction opens for this ship, and you find many people asking for it. That's why this
[00:19:28] price increased so dramatically. Therefore, today there's a refining crisis.
[00:19:32] This morning, I don't know if you read the news, the Moscow refinery was hit today.
[00:19:35] And there's no initial report on whether the region will also
[00:19:39] be affected. Also, yesterday, Cuba,
[00:19:42] 9 million people, complete blackout due to energy supplies and the absence of diesel
[00:19:46] and the absence of oil derivatives and gas. So the crisis is a global
[00:19:49] crisis. Generally, it might be slightly less severe for us, and we have
[00:19:52] some local product and the sea route.
[00:19:55] I mean, Syria's location is very important. We have an oil
[00:19:59] pipeline, the Arab Gas Pipeline, which is connected from
[00:20:02] Jordan. We are currently getting one million cubic meters from it. There is
[00:20:05] a gap between Homs and Aleppo from the Arab Gas Pipeline
[00:20:09] that we are now working on through the internal network to bring
[00:20:12] the 5 to 5.3 million cubic
[00:20:15] meters. This line, we
[00:20:18] requested price offers, and it is currently under implementation to
[00:20:22] complete the Arab Gas Pipeline with a financial value of about
[00:20:25] a quarter of a billion dollars to complete this line. Of course, it will be at the company's expense.
[00:20:29] The gas balance is also the same
[00:20:32] Our production is 6 million, 8.1.
[00:20:36] Currently, it is around
[00:20:39] 8 or 8.4. It fluctuates, around 8.5 million. Let's
[00:20:42] fix it at around 8.5 million. We have around
[00:20:45] 6 million cubic meters of gas, or 6.3
[00:20:49] more accurately, is what we are currently buying. We buy gas
[00:20:55] Azerbaijan to Turkey, and we buy one million cubic meters of
[00:20:58] gas from Aqaba, from Jordan, from Aqaba. There is a ship here,
[00:21:02] anyway, from Jordan. Jordan does not have gas; it is an importer.
[00:21:05] ship that converts liquefied natural gas (LNG)
[00:21:08] into gas, which then pumps it into the Arab Gas Pipeline.
[00:21:12] We receive it in Syria and transfer it to power plants, the Deir Ali plant, where
[00:21:16] electricity is generated. So I am practically buying 6.3 million cubic meters of
[00:21:20] gas daily. I am paying, before gas prices rose, we were not
[00:21:23] paying this amount. We are currently paying
[00:21:28] meters of 140 million dollars,
[00:21:31] the cost of gas for these 6 cubic meters per month. This
[00:21:35] 140 million is the cost of gas for generation.
[00:21:38] 140 million. Of course, part of it was a grant from Qatar,
[00:21:42] and we are grateful, but the grant ended in August, and these
[00:21:46] amounts were 3.2. Half of this gas was a grant, and the other
[00:21:49] half was purchased. Now it's all purchased, we are buying it all and paying for it. That's why
[00:21:52] when the fuel crisis happened recently and gas prices rose significantly,
[00:21:56] the Ministry of Finance did not allocate in its
[00:21:59] budget to provide us with the full cost of this gas. So it will reduce,
[00:22:02] I mean, it will reduce our gas purchases. We might cut 2 to 3 million
[00:22:06] in purchases during the coming period. Of course, this will affect generation, it will affect
[00:22:10] the number of connection hours for electricity
[00:22:13] because the Ministry of Finance does not have the capacity
[00:22:17] to finance because basically we used to contribute
[00:22:20] to the treasury around
[00:22:24] okay? As a
[00:22:27] last month, we asked them to cover our deficit. We started paying
[00:22:30] for gas and fuel, which is losing significantly. So they said we do not have
[00:22:34] the capacity to cover your deficit. Okay? The Ministry of Finance said, I don't
[00:22:38] have the capacity to cover your deficit. So I am faced with choices. Either we live in a fuel
[00:22:41] crisis, meaning that's it, I buy whatever money I have
[00:22:45] and that's it. We live with fuel and diesel and gasoline crises,
[00:22:49] or I completely stop buying gas, completely stop these 6 million,
[00:22:53] from the south and from the north, and electricity returns to two to three hours. This is 8
[00:22:56] million, and this is the system that used to operate. He says that the electricity tariff was cheap.
[00:23:00] How was the
[00:23:03] and this is the solution. The system was producing 6 million. Now we have a little over eight
[00:23:06] that is sent to the power plants. This quantity is sent to the power plants.
[00:23:09] It burns gas and generates electricity. It used to generate
[00:23:13] 950 megawatts from this gas, 950 megawatts, and distribute it to
[00:23:17] people. In winter, it would come for one to two hours. When we entered Damascus, electricity used to come
[00:23:20] for two hours. When we returned, we started buying gas and rehabilitated
[00:23:24] the stations and increased our local production until
[00:23:27] electricity reached this point. I can stop the gas,
[00:23:28] burn the same amount of gas, and it's fine. I don't have any costs.
[00:23:32] So electricity remains cheap and subsidized and so on. But this cannot
[00:23:35] build an energy sector, nor can we reach a point because I have cities.
[00:23:38] We have industrial cities, long and wide, that we are supplying with electricity 24 hours a day.
[00:23:42] They consume more than this. They are consuming about 40% of the energy. Industrial
[00:23:45] and commercial cities, meaning industrial and commercial consumption, are 40% of the energy. So if
[00:23:48] I reduce this, all the factories that have reopened in Syria will
[00:23:52] close again. And this will give a very bad impression
[00:23:56] to industrialists and to... So instead of economic growth, the
[00:24:00] graph, which was rising, will stop or decline because
[00:24:03] energy is the foundation, as we mentioned, for the
[00:24:07] economy. Refineries and refining. We mentioned that Baniyas refinery's nominal capacity
[00:24:10] is about 130,000 barrels. Homs refinery
[00:24:13] currently produces between 30 and 40 thousand. God willing, by the end of the month, by the end of this
[00:24:15] month, it will reach 50,000. We have a upgrading unit that has problems. Homs refinery
[00:24:19] is very old and dilapidated. The opinion of the Syrian Petroleum Company from
[00:24:22] the beginning, when it was established, was to close it because it was not economically viable.
[00:24:26] So I was, I mean, I insisted on preserving it
[00:24:30] initially, and then we agreed on this idea of preserving it initially
[00:24:33] because it represents energy security. It can refine the heavy oil we have in
[00:24:37] Syria. In case of crises, by God's will, we returned to a crisis and found the importance of Homs refinery
[00:24:40] despite its poor technical condition. However, it represents energy
[00:24:44] security for Syria. We will not close it until we can prepare new
[00:24:47] refineries that cover the local
[00:24:51] The reasons for Baniyas's maintenance. One of
[00:24:54] the honorable members of parliament asked me if it was necessary, could we have
[00:24:57] postponed it? Baniyas's maintenance was already postponed. It operated
[00:25:00] 99 shutdowns during the revolution. I mean,
[00:25:04] a facility and restart it, and to stop a facility that has deteriorated significantly.
[00:25:08] It did not undergo rehabilitation. There were sanctions,
[00:25:10] and the regime did not carry out rehabilitation.
[00:25:14] for the refinery. It is working, The Syrian Petroleum Company, meaning
[00:25:18] its budget is not an investment, it is part of
[00:25:20] the Syrian Company's budget. Also, we were asked about the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline.
[00:25:24] This line is an old line, its capacity
[00:25:27] is very low, meaning its capacity is very low,
[00:25:31] and it is dilapidated, for cathodic protection. It hasn't been working for a long time, since the days of the Iraq war. The pipeline
[00:25:34] stopped. The pipeline is dilapidated. We conducted a technical study
[00:25:38] for it. It needs to be replaced completely. Companies entered and signed a
[00:25:42] memorandum of understanding with the Iraqi government, and we signed a memorandum of
[00:25:45] understanding with them. The alliance of companies. Actually, this is the first step
[00:25:48] from Iraq, because we are a transit country. If we did it from our side,
[00:25:51] and the oil did not come to us from there, what is the benefit of building this pipeline?
[00:25:57] Iraq, and the Prime Minister, a while ago, about a week ago, I read
[00:26:01] a statement from him directing the companies to accelerate the implementation of this pipeline. And God willing,
[00:26:04] once they start signing the contracts, because these are memorandums of understanding, official
[00:26:08] contracts, we will immediately be one of the parties to these contracts with these
[00:26:11] companies. This is also one of the reasons why
[00:26:15] we did not go towards a tender for this pipeline, because it is essentially an alliance of companies that will
[00:26:18] start from Kirkuk, okay, to Baniyas. So it's the same companies
[00:26:22] that will implement it, because we are a transit country, meaning we will take
[00:26:26] transit fees. We might put some conditions that allow us to have
[00:26:31] pipeline, and the workforce and stations, and so on.
[00:26:34] Okay, restoration of strategic pipelines and facilities. We have restored, of course, our people
[00:26:38] in Baniyas and Homs refineries several times.
[00:26:41] We rehabilitated them after they were out of service in many stages.
[00:26:45] We operated main pumping units in
[00:26:48] pipes. Some details we might not dwell on much. We might
[00:26:51] send them to you so you can review them. Restoration of the heavy oil pipeline. We were asked
[00:26:55] about it. May God bless the honorable representative who asked about it. This is very important
[00:26:58] because the issue of oil transportation by tanker, this
[00:27:02] is not healthy. First, because of the corruption that will occur through transportation and theft,
[00:27:08] oil from the tanker and filling it with water instead, part of it, ten barrels, and so
[00:27:11] on. In addition to the issue
[00:27:14] of traffic congestion on the roads, in addition to the issue, meaning
[00:27:17] the effect on the road itself, its technical condition will be affected. Therefore, it is something
[00:27:21] unhealthy. We have the heavy oil pipeline. This pipeline has
[00:27:25] more than 1400 encroachments on it, meaning they used to take
[00:27:28] oil from it. We removed these encroachments. We completed 80%
[00:27:32] of it. Maintenance and rehabilitation, God willing. Meaning,
[00:27:36] during under ideal conditions,
[00:27:40] ideal conditions, because last time we were saying it should be working with us by the end
[00:27:42] of September. This pipeline, but
[00:27:46] we found an area with mines. By the time we contacted the concerned authorities
[00:27:49] to remove the mines for rehabilitation, you encounter challenges
[00:27:52] that you sometimes don't account for. Okay, you pumped, pressured the pipeline,
[00:27:56] and went to inspect it, but you find one mine. The safety
[00:27:59] of workers is a priority. So you need to form teams from the Ministry of Defense
[00:28:03] or the Ministry of Emergency Affairs to remove the mines, and this takes time. We were delayed
[00:28:07] an additional 10-15 days due to something we had not anticipated. Therefore,
[00:28:10] God willing, it will be in service within a few weeks, Your Excellency the Minister.
[00:28:14] If it takes long, we might divide the session, because you
[00:28:18] took three-quarters of an hour. If we prolong the second
[00:28:21] intervention in the second part, until we see, until
[00:28:25] there is more focus on information. Okay. Can you allow us
[00:28:28] to just cover the oil file? We can postpone electricity and water, if you allow, Mr. President. Okay.
[00:28:45] So that the members are paying attention as they should, because now
[00:28:49] it's been an hour of talking, meaning one can get distracted, meaning
[00:28:52] a scientific case, meaning we will summarize, God willing, the remaining part of the oil section, God willing,
[00:28:56] and then postpone electricity and water. Mineral resources, which are
[00:29:00] the most complex and difficult, are the issue of derivatives. Fuel depots
[00:29:03] and storage capacities. Our active depots are
[00:29:05] in Homs.
[00:29:08] About 10,200 cubic meters of diesel. Of course, the condition
[00:29:11] of the tanks is very good. We sent a delegation a while ago to Korea.
[00:29:15] They reminded us there. A Korean company came and said that they have ready tanks, because
[00:29:19] building tanks may take from one to one and a half years. They said they have ready tanks
[00:29:22] that can be directly transported and installed. So they went to inspect these tanks
[00:29:26] and study their technical condition. God willing, once they send us the report,
[00:29:30] they were in Korea in the past few days. Once they send us the technical
[00:29:34] condition, we might approve and purchase them directly. There are underground tanks in Deir
[00:29:37] ez-Zor, Jamal. The active capacities
[00:29:43] gasoline. Storage and enhancing supply security. We were also asked about this by the committee,
[00:29:47] thankfully. We have strived from the beginning
[00:29:50] to secure a reserve, but all our depots, and you all know it, each one
[00:29:54] from his governorate knows many of the depots. The best depots we have
[00:29:57] are in Homs, somewhat. Some depots are holding up a bit,
[00:30:00] acceptable. And we have some in Adra. And the rest of the depots in the Aleppo countryside,
[00:30:04] in Khan Tuman, also in Khan
[00:30:07] al-Assal, in al-Ramouseh, all
[00:30:10] well. The depots in Idlib, which were in Kafr Batikh, also
[00:30:14] completely destroyed. They cannot be used.
[00:30:17] Many tanks and depots need to be rebuilt
[00:30:20] and rehabilitated. We have started rehabilitating part of them,
[00:30:24] part of them, but the investment budgets, as we mentioned, cannot
[00:30:27] cover everything. Today we have priorities. In the order of priorities, they tell us
[00:30:31] the Ministry of Finance, stop revenues to the treasury for
[00:30:34] a year. We'll restart everything.
[00:30:37] But if the Ministry of Finance is asking us to raise
[00:30:40] salaries and wages, and we have investment projects, and you are a very
[00:30:43] large part of these things as a petroleum company,
[00:30:47] they don't give us a single day's grace. In terms of financial transfers, as we mentioned, we used to give them
[00:30:51] 250 million dollars every month, after
[00:30:54] we had oil, 250 million dollars. So all this
[00:30:58] contributed to increasing salaries and wages.