Page 18 - DMEA Week 37

DMEA NEWS IN BRIEF DMEA

undisclosed suppliers, Bassam Touma told 10 days, capacity would rise by 25 percent. according to sources with knowledge of the
state television. Shipments from several undisclosed sources shipment cited by Reuters.
“The tightening of the American siege and would also help ease the crisis later this Gasoline scarcity in Venezuela has
their barring of imports from arriving forced month, he added. reportedly worsened in recent days due to
us to reduce distribution of gasoline by 35%,” Oil traders say oil imports through insufficient domestic production, leaving
Touma said. Beirut port, a major conduit, have also been long queues of drivers waiting in front of
Residents say there have been acute disrupted in the wake of a major explosion stations. The situation has been caused by
shortages in the capital and main cities, where last August. difficulties in attending to maintenance,
long queues have been building at petrol Washington has long accused Syria of repairs and operational requirements at the
stations in the last week. smuggling oil through Lebanon across a South American country’s refineries, with
The fuel shortages come with the country porous border area where Damascus’s ally some mainly blaming US sanctions for the
in the throes of an economic crisis, amid Iranian-backed Hezbollah holds sway. troubles and others pointing the finger at
a collapsing currency and inflation sky- A shortfall in foreign currency had also economic mismanagement by the Maduro
rocketing, aggravating hardships for ordinary forced Damascus to import less fuel in the last administration.
Syrians battered by years of war. two months, further worsening supplies, two Iran sent a first flotilla of five fuel-laden
The government has limited private traders said. tankers to Venezuela between May and June.
vehicles to 30 litres of gasoline every four days, They arrived in Venezuelan state-run PDVSA
with residents saying hundreds of motorists ports without interference. But a second group
wait for hours before gas stations are opened. Iranian-flagged fuel tankers of four Liberia-flagged tankers owned by a
Oil production collapsed after Damascus Greek shipping group did not arrive at the
lost most of its oil producing fields in a stretch ‘round Cape of Good Hope South American nation in July as the fuel was
east of the Euphrates River in Deir al-Zor. seized by Washington under a court order.
These oilfields are now in the hands of US bound for Venezuela’ The Forest and Fortune have an estimated
backed Syrian Kurds, who continue to sell date of arrival later this month, the Eikon data
part of the oil to Damascus. The Donald Trump administration’s dislike also showed.
Syria had previously relied on Iranian oil of Iran supplying gasoline to fellow US- A third Iranian tanker of the same size that
shipments but tightening sanctions on Iran, sanctioned country Venezuela is about to also loaded fuel in August at Bandar Abbas,
Syria and their allies have dried up supplies in be stirred once more. Two Iranian-flagged the Faxon, has kept its transponder switched
the past year. tankers transporting fuel are sailing round off since it set sail, the data showed. That
The shortages were worsened by major Africa’s Cape of Good Hope en route to the makes it difficult for tracking systems to detect
maintenance at the Baniyas refinery, the Atlantic Ocean, Refinitiv Eikon vessel tracking its location. That vessel is also bound for
country’s largest, which supplied two-thirds of data showed on September 10. Venezuela, according to the Reuters sources,
the country’s gasoline needs, Touma said. The medium-size vessels Forest and but the route it took is yet unknown.
Touma said once unavoidable maintenance Fortune, carrying about 300,000 barrels of fuel
work at the 130,000 barrel per day capacity each loaded at Iran’s Bandar Abbas terminal
refinery had been completed in the next last month, were bound for Venezuela,

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