Syria to build new refineries, increase oil production
Syria, Economics, 7/21/2005

Senior oil official voiced on Wednesday Syria's interest to increase petroleum and mineral resources production as well oil refining capacity by building new refineries to get a strategic role in this regard.

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Ibrahim Haddad, told journalists after the cabinet discussed the fifth plan of development with the ministry, "the Premier underlined the need to strongly pay attention to the Oil and Mineral Resource production as to dispel worry that appeared during the last few years over the oil production decrease." He noted that this posed as a challenge to official at the ministry, a matter that pushed them to look for alternatives to do the required job.

The minister pointed out to the oil and mines source importance in the national economy, concentrating on the importance of oil refining and increasing its production by establishing new refineries. "This is to get Syria a strategic role in light of its geographical location by producing oil derivatives even if that requires importing raw oil," the minister said hoping that Syria would become "an attractive country for investments in the field of oil and gas, and the need to make feasibility study to achieve that.

Since oil production peaked at 590,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) in 1996, Syria's oil output has fallen, to an estimated 535,000 bbl/d in 2003, as older fields, especially the large Jebisseh field discovered in 1968, have reached maturity. Syrian oil production is expected to continue its decline over the next several years, while consumption rises, leading to a reduction in Syrian net oil exports.

Syria's two refineries are located at Banias o the Syrian coast and Homs in central Syrai. Total current production of these refineries is 239,865 and 107,140 barrels a day respectively. Syria is planning to reconstruct a third refinery at Deir al-Zour in the northeast.

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