MEOG: Syrian hopes and Iranian progress

This week’s MEOG looks at optimism about post-sanctions Syria and Iran’s continued efforts to expand upstream capacity.

UK-based Gulfsands Petroleum remains optimistic about the potential for Syria to reinvigorate its oil sector following its ravaging by 11 years of civil conflict and sanctions that continue to prevent the legal resumption of operations.

Speaking in an interview with The Syria Report this week, Gulfsands managing director John Bell said that his company remains compliant with European Union and US sanctions, having declared force majeure on its Block 26 in the north-east of the country in 2011.

“Gulfsands will return to operations in Syria only when it is legal and safe to do so, which would include all applicable sanctions having been lifted or waivers or other equivalent approvals received. We have proactively pursued an open and constructive relationship with the governments and authorities responsible for their implementation,” he said.

However, “oil from Block 26, a field contracted to Gulfsands under Syrian and international law, is being produced illegally by other actors”, he noted, adding that the assets are being managed and controlled by the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC)/Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and its affiliates, including Al-Jazeera Oil Co.

Meanwhile, Iran has announced progress on more oilfield expansion projects this week as it continues to work to increase production capabilities across its portfolio of assets.

The updates come as Tehran maintains optimism about oil export opportunities while reiterating its intention to raise oil output from the current 2.55mn barrels per day to 5.7mn bpd by the end of the decade.