The Syrian Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources, Ghiyath Diab, announced that the private sector is now allowed to import petroleum products into Syria, although distribution of these products remains restricted.
Diab explained during an interview with CNBC Arabic on Sunday, January 12, that the importation of fuel materials will be open to all international entities, companies, and countries, not limited to government imports only. He clarified that the Damascus government has started to engage with the private sector in this context.
Following the permission for the private sector to import, three tankers were received for the benefit of private traders and companies, carrying an average of 15,000 tons of petroleum products to Syria.
On another note, the Syrian Ministry of Oil announced on Sunday a tender for supplying domestic gas, with specific specifications and conditions.
Gas and oil pipelines from Turkey
Minister of Oil, Ghiyath Diab, mentioned during the interview that it is possible to activate a number of gas and oil transport lines between countries via Syria soon, adding that there are many proposals for partnership with Turkey in this matter; however, the Damascus government has not seriously engaged with any of them, as he expressed.
Diab considered that there must be global and foreign partnerships to access modern technologies in the oil sector, clarifying that the priority here is to prepare and evaluate the fields for submission to global companies.
The minister indicated that research and exploration operations for oil and gas in Syria will commence after completing the procedures in less than a month.
The Damascus government decided to set fuel prices in US dollars, making them subject to fluctuations based on the Syrian pound’s exchange rate, which is experiencing changes. As a result, fuel is now more accessible than before and at lower prices than those determined by the previous regime according to the unsubsidized price, while prices have increased when measured against the subsidized price.
The government of the ousted president, Bashar al-Assad, used to distribute fuel allocations to residents in areas under its control in a limited manner, forcing them to resort to the black market to meet their fuel needs. Prices vary depending on demand and the availability of subsidized materials, doubling in times of recurring fuel crises, while they decline when materials are available regularly.
Additionally, most prices of consumer goods were affected by the increase in fuel prices, amidst deteriorating purchasing power among the population and a collapsing economy, whereby many families rely on remittances from Syrians living abroad to secure the minimum basic needs for living.