The Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC, Arabic: ‫ )شركة النفط السورية‬is a state-owned oil exploration and

production company. The company was established in 1974.

SPC operated fields around Al-Sweidiyeh in the Al-Hasakah Governorate, including Al-Houla,
Shadada, Jbeissa, Sweidiya, Rumailan and Al-Omar.[1][2] In March 2011, SPC produced about 55% of
total oil produced in Syria.[3]  China’s state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has
large stakes in one of Syria's biggest oil companies the Al-Furat Petroleum Company, as well as in a
number of Syrian oil fields.[5] India has made two significant investments in Syria in the oil sector in
the pre-conflict days. First, an agreement was signed in January 2004 between Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC) and IPR International for exploration of oil and natural gas in Block 24
near Deir ez-Zor in northern Syria. Second, investments by India's ONGC and China's CNPC to
jointly acquire the 37% stake of PetroCanada in the Syrian Al Furat Petroleum Company.

Subsidiaries
The Syrian Petroleum Company owns 50% stake in Syria's main oil producer, Al-Furat Petroleum
Company. Other shareholders of the Al-Furat Petroleum Company are Royal Dutch Shell, India's Oil
and Natural Gas Corporation, and the China National Petroleum Corporation.[7][8]
Other subsidiaries are:

 Amrit Petroleum Company (50%)

 Awda Petroleum Company (50%)
 Dujla Petroleum Company (50%)
 Hayyan (50%)
 Kawkab Oil Company [KOC] (50%)
 Deir Ezzor Petroleum Company (50%)[9]

 Syrian Petroleum Company ( SPC )

 Contact Details and Description
 Description
 Established in 1958, Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) is affiliated to the Ministry of oil
and mineral resources.

The Company is responsible for oil exploration and development in the country and is
managed by a General Director and Administrative Board.

Al-Furat Petroleum Company (AFPC)

Syria's main oil producer (by far) is Al-Furat Petroleum Co. (AFPC) a joint venture
established in 1985 and owned by the Syrian Petroleum Company, Shell, and
PetroCanada. AFPC's fields are located in the northeastern Syria - particularly the Deir
 ez-Zour region, where commercial quantities of oil were discovered in the late 1980s -
and are producing about 400,000 bbl/d of high quality light crude.

AFPC's main oil field is al-Thayyem, although production there has been declining since
1991. Another important field - Omar/Omar North - began production in February 1989
at 55,000 bbl/d. Shortly thereafter, operator Shell was pressed by the cash-strapped
Syrian government to step up production (against Shell's advice) to 100,000 bbl/d. The
result was serious reservoir damage, and in April 1989, output plummeted to 30,000
bbl/d. Currently, Omar produces about 15,000 bbl/d from natural pressure and 30,000
bbl/d from water injection. Other AFPC fields include al-Izba (light oil), Maleh (34 degree
API gravity oil), Sijan, and Tanak. Production from fields run by SPC peaked in the late
1970s at more than 165,000 bbl/d

Petroleum industry in Syria

The petroleum industry in Syria forms a major part of the economy of Syria. According to the
International Monetary Fund, before the Syrian Civil War, oil sales for 2010 were projected to generate
$3.2 billion for the Syrian government and accounted for 25.1% of the state's revenue.[1]

Syria is a relatively small oil producer, that accounted for just 0.5% of the global production in 2010,[2]
[3] falling to less than 0.05% by 2016.[4] Although Syria is not a major oil exporter by Middle Eastern
standards, oil is a major component of the Syrian economy, because of Syria's extremely low GDP per
capita. Syria's oil sector has been hit by the Civil War and international sanctions imposed on Syria.

Syria’s two biggest oil companies are the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC), which is owned by the Syrian
Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and Al-Furat Petroleum Company which is 50% owned by
General Petroleum Corporation and the other 50% are foreign owned. The joint venture of AFPC
currently includes General Petroleum Corporation with 50%, Syria Shell Petroleum Development with
32%, and the remainder held by Deminex, which is owned by Himalaya Energy Syria, a consortium of
China National Petroleum Company and India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.[5] As of December
2011 Shell has suspended operations in Syria due to EU sanctions.[6] Another important consortium is
Deir Ez Zor Petroleum Company, owned by SPC and France's Total. Total suspended operations in the
country from December 2011.[7] A more recent entrant is the United Kingdom's Gulfsands Petroleum.
As of February 2012, Gulfsands has suspended its Syrian operations due to EU sanctions
Syria is the only significant crude oil producing country in the Eastern Mediterranean region, According
to the Oil and Gas Journal, Syria had 2,500,000,000 barrels (400,000,000 m3) of petroleum reserves as of
1 January 2010.[5] Syria's known oil reserves are mainly in the eastern part of the country in the Deir ez-
Zor Governorate near its border with Iraq and along the Euphrates River, and a number of smaller fields
are located in the center of the country.[9] In 2010, Syria produced around 385,000 barrels (61,200 m3)
per day of crude oil.[1][3] Oil production has stabilized after falling for a number of years, and is poised
to turn around as new fields come online. In 2008, Syria produced 5.3 billion cubic metres (1.9×1011 cu
ft) of natural gas, and two years later in 2010, it increased production to 7.8×109 m3 (2.8×1011 cu ft).
[10] While much of its oil is exported to Europe, Syria's natural gas is used in reinjection for enhanced oil
recovery and for domestic electricity generation.[5]

Although Syria produces relatively modest quantities of oil and gas, its location is strategic in terms of
regional security and prospective energy transit routes.[5] The first section of the Arab Gas Pipeline to
enter Syria, totalling 600 kilometres (370 mi) through Syria, starts at the Jordan–Syria border in the
south, connecting to Tishreen and Deir Ali power stations.[11] This was subsequently extended to
connect to Deir Ammar power station in Lebanon and Baniyas in Syria.[12] A further section was
planned to continue up to the Turkish border,[11] but the ongoing civil war is expected to further delay
this connection.[1

Syrian oil exploration first began in 1933 during the French Mandate by the Iraq Petroleum Company (a
consortium made up of Shell, BP, Exxon-Mobil, Total, and Gulbekian), which after unsuccessfully drilling
eleven wells, gave up hope of finding any oil in Syria. In 1949, James W. Menhall (1881-1974), an
independent oil producer from Illinois, United States, was approached by Syrian President Shukri al-
Quwatli to come to Syria to prospect for oil. His James W. Menhall Drilling Company was awarded a
concession on 17 May 1955 by unanimous vote of the Syrian parliament and started drilling in April
1956.[citation needed] In September 1956, Menhall discovered the Karatchok oil field with over 1 billion
barrels of reserves. Six consecutive wells were drilled, each producing in excess of 4,000 barrels (640
m3).[citation needed] Menhall was just commencing preparations to drill the adjoining Rumeilan oil field
(with over 500 million barrels of reserves) when, on 5 October 1958, President Gamal Abdel Nasser of
Egypt, as President of the United Arab Republic, expropriated Menhall's concession and confiscated his
equipment and three drilling rigs without compensation.[citation needed] The Syrian government,
under the Baath Party leadership, has since refused to consider any compensation.[citation needed] The
Syrian oil industry took off in 1968, when the Karatchok oil field began production after a pipeline
connecting it to the Homs refinery was completed, although Syria did not begin exporting oil until the
mid-1980s.[14]

In 2009, Syria's net petroleum exports were estimated to be 148,000 bbl/d (23,500 m3/d).[15] All oil
exports are marketed by Sytrol, Syria's state oil marketing firm, which sells most of its volume under 12-
month contracts. Before the imposition of EU sanctions, Syrian crude oil exports went mostly to the
European Union, in particular Germany, Italy, and France, totaling an estimated 137,400 bbl/d (21,840
m3/d) in 2009, according to Eurostat.[16] In 2010, the European Union as a whole spent $4.1 billion on
Syrian oil imports.[17]

Oil production during the Syrian Civil War

Challenges

Syria oil exports by destination country in 2010 (note that as of 2012, all countries on this chart no
longer trade oil with Syria due to sanctions against the country)

Besides the Civil War and the imposition of international sanctions, Syria's oil sector faces a number of
challenges, including a decline in output and production resulting from technological problems and a
depletion of oil reserves. Syria's rate of oil production has decreased steadily from a peak of close to
610,000 bbl/d (97,000 m3/d) in 1995 down to approximately 385,000 bbl/d (61,200 m3/d) in 2010.
Meanwhile, consumption is rising, which means that Syria could become a net oil importer within a
decade.[3][14][needs update?] To counteract this problem, Syria intensified oil exploration efforts.

Syria's upstream oil production and development has traditionally been the mandate of the Syrian
Petroleum Company (SPC), owned by the Syrian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. SPC has
undertaken efforts to reverse the trend toward declining oil production and exports by increasing oil
exploration and production in partnership with foreign oil companies. The SPC directly controls about
half of the country's oil production and takes a 50% stake in development work with foreign partners.[5]

Foreign investment is vital for improving production levels; however, following the outbreak of the
Syrian Civil War, many countries important to Syria's oil exports have imposed sanctions, which legally
prevents Western companies from working in the country.

Al-Furat Petroleum Company is a joint venture established in 1985. It is currently 50% owned by SPC and
the other 50% is foreign owned: Anglo-Dutch Shell with 32%, and the remainder held by Himalaya
Energy Syria, a consortium of China National Petroleum Company and India's Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation.[5] The company produced an average 100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m3/d). As of December 2011
Shell has suspended operations in Syria due to EU sanctions.[6]
Deir Ez Zor Petroleum Company is a consortium owned by SPC and France's Total. Total formed its
Syrian operation in 1988 and in 2008 renewed its partnership sharing agreement with Syria. Prior to the
Syrian Civil War, the company produced an average 27,000 bbl/d (4,300 m3/d) from its fields around
Deir ez-Zour.[27]

A more recent entrant is the United Kingdom's Gulfsands Petroleum. At the beginning of 2011, its oil
fields produced 20,700 bbl/d (3,290 m3/d).[28] As of February 2012, Gulfsands has suspended its Syrian
operations due to EU sanctions.[8]

Another option to handle the increase in domestic oil consumption besides increasing oil production is
to switch power stations from oil-fired to natural gas-fired. Proven natural gas reserves, approximately
three-quarters of which are owned by the Syrian Petroleum Company, were estimated at 2.6 trillion
cubic meters (9.1 trillion cubic feet) in 2010.[10] A major challenge for the natural gas industry is
logistics: reserves are located mainly in northeastern Syria, whereas the population is concentrated in
the west and south.[32]

The Syrian Petroleum Company is located in Damascus, Syria. SPC was established by decree
number 9 in the 1974 legislation. SPC is responsible for all oil and gas related activity (e.g.
exploration, production, etc.) in Syria.

References
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