Syrian Oil And Gas: Little-Known Facts on Syria’s Energy Resources http://www.ibtimes.com/syrian-oil-gas-little-known-facts-syrias-energy-resources-russias-help-1402405
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[[[[[[Syria possessed 2.5 billion barrels of crude oil as of January 2013, which makes it the largest proved reserve of crude oil in the eastern Mediterranean according to the Oil & Gas Journal estimate, besides Iraq.]]]]]]But after two and a half years of war, exploration is at a standstill since international oil companies once operating in Syria have abandoned their operations as the violence escalates and sanctions target Syria’s energy sector.
Russia, the chief backer of the Assad regime, is the only remaining international partner still helping develop Syria’s oil and gas resources in the past year.A Congressional Research Service report found that Syria was still in discussion with Russia and China over offshore exploration in April, but few details are known.Syria also has oil shale resources with estimated reserves that range as high as 50 billion tons, according to a Syrian government source in 2010.This may explain one of the reason’s Russia has a huge stake in Damascus as its state-owned energy companies have been profiting off the despotic Assad regimeIn a recent interview, Assad said, “From a purely economic perspective, there are several agreements between Syria and Russia for various goods and materials. As for a loan from Russia, this should be viewed as beneficial to both parties; for Russia it is an opportunity for its national industries and companies to expand into new markets.”U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, in a testimony to Congress in March, said Russia’s support for Assad includes selling Syrian oil on world markets.
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CONFIRMED!US ENERGY INFORMATION ADMNISTRATION ADMITS THIS!!
Reserves and recent discoveries As of January 2013, the largest reserves of oil in the eastern Mediterranean region belonged to Syria http://www.eia.gov/countries/regions-topics.cfm?fips=EM
Syria possesses the largest proved reserves of crude oil in the eastern Mediterranean countries. The Oil & Gas Journal estimated Syria's proved reserves at 2.5 billion barrels in January 2013, a total larger than all of Syria's neighbors except for Iraq. The Oil & Gas Journal also reported at the end of 2012 that Syria held proved reserves of 8.5 Tcf of natural gas. This gives Syria the largest conventional hydrocarbon resource base of the countries in this report, although the recent discoveries in neighboring Israel mean that this could change at some point in the future.
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