Iraq is facing a crisis. About 80% of its oil exports have collapsed due to the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which the US is now also blocking to Iran.
Baghdad is thus seeing many of its normal maritime oil exports via the Persian Gulf interdicted. As such, Iraq has sought to send oil via the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq to Turkey. It is also seeking to send oil via Syria.
This positions Syria as an important oil and energy hub.
“The Syrian Petroleum Company said on Wednesday that loading has begun for the first shipment of Iraqi fuel oil at the Baniyas terminal, ahead of its export via a designated tanker,” Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Syria’s official news agency, reported Wednesday.
“The shipment is part of a broader transit operation involving Iraqi fuel transported through Syrian territory to the Mediterranean coast for export to global markets,” the report said.
This is important because it means Iraq might find a new way to send oil and fuel via Syria.
Iraqi fuel enters Syria through the al-Tanf border crossing
“Earlier this month, convoys carrying Iraqi fuel entered Syria through al-Tanf border crossing, heading to storage facilities before being transferred to the Baniyas oil terminal for loading,” SANA reported.
Tanf used to be the site of a US base in Syria. The Tanf garrison existed since around 2015 and backed a Syrian rebel group. That group later called itself the Syrian Free Army (SFA).
After the fall of the Assad regime, the SFA supported the new government and began to work with the Syrian army’s 70th Division. Later, it also was involved with Syrian Interior Ministry forces securing areas near Tanf, Palmyra, and Homs province. The US left Tanf, and this has enabled the area to become a new transit hub for Syria.
“Safwan Sheikh Ahmad, director of corporate communications at the Syrian Petroleum Company, said the first convoy included 299 tankers, describing the operation as a step toward restoring transit activity through Syria,” SANA reported. “He said the process is expected to support economic activity by increasing transit flows and generating revenue.”
The fuel trade with Syria has enabled the border crossing between al-Tanf in Syria and al-Waleed in Iraq to reopen to traffic. This will be important for Syria in the future.