Big start for Syria, the struggle for land oil transportation rages as Hormuz strait is closed!

                           Hormuz strait

The Syrian Petroleum Company announced that Iraqi fuel convoys crossed towards the port of Banias for export the day before yesterday, April 1st.

The company said in a post on X that this crossing reflects the readiness of the infrastructure and the efficiency of the institution’s staff in enhancing the stability of the global energy market.

Mazen Alloush, Director of Public Relations at the Syrian General Authority for Land and Border Ports, said in another post that within the framework of strengthening economic connectivity and activating regional energy corridors, the Al-Tanf – Al-Waleed border crossing was reopened today, as the first convoys of Iraqi fuel tankers entered Syrian territory heading towards the Banias refinery.

This development reflects Syria’s return to playing its strategic role as a regional corridor for energy transportation, alongside the activation of commercial transit movement between the two countries, which contributes to supporting the flow of goods and enhancing resource transit through Syrian territory.

Alloush added that this step is an important milestone in the path of developing economic cooperation between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of Iraq, by revitalizing trade and energy routes, thereby enhancing opportunities for economic integration and supporting trade exchange during this phase.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi Ministry of Oil said in a press statement that it is cooperating with Syria to ensure the passage of oil through its territory to export outlets, announcing a gradual increase in quantities to support the country’s economy, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the war has led to a search for alternatives.

In light of the American-Israeli war on Iran, the latter announced the closure of the maritime strait through which about 20% of energy supplies to the global market pass, leading to a rise in oil prices and a global energy crisis.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced Israel’s readiness to secure alternatives through its territory for Gulf oil, as it has coasts on the Mediterranean, but Saudi Arabia already owns the Yanbu port for exporting its oil on the Red Sea, thus managing to increase its exports through it to seven million barrels per day.

Syria already has oil pipelines connecting it to Iraq towards the Mediterranean, but they need maintenance, and it exports phosphate and locally produced oil, while narratives at the beginning of the Syrian revolution suggested that Qatar funded the revolution in order to extend a gas pipeline to Europe via Syria.

The closure of the strait highlights a race among regional countries to win energy supply corridors in the absence of other alternatives, especially Syria, which needs enormous sums for reconstruction and to finance its energy bill.

Syria news report