US company ‘stole Syrian oil’

SYRIA’S foreign ministry said yesterday that an American company had signed an agreement with Kurdish-led rebels who control north-eastern oilfields in what it described as an illegal deal aimed at “stealing” Syria’s crude oil.

A ministry statement, published on state media, did not name the company involved in the deal with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance that seized swathes of north and east Syria from the Islamic State group with US help.

The statement did not give details on the agreement and there was no immediate response from SDF officials to a request for comment.

There was no immediate comment from US officials either.

Damascus “condemns in the strongest terms the agreement signed between al-Qasd militia (SDF) and an American oil company to steal Syria’s oil under the sponsorship and support of the American administration”, the statement said.

“This agreement is null and void and has no legal basis,” it said, adding that it was a violation of Syrian sovereignty.

Syria produced about 380 000 barrels of oil a day before a civil war erupted after a crackdown on protests in 2011, with Iran and Russia back-ing President Bashar al-Assad’s government and the US supporting the opposition.

Damascus lost control of most oil producing fields in a stretch east of the Euphrates River in Deir al-Zor. Western sanctions have also hit the energy industry.