According to data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea, the first crude oil shipment from Syria in 14 years arrived at the Italian port of Trieste on September 15, after a partial offload at the Italian oil terminal of Sarroch on September 10.
Just over 200,000 barrels of sour crude were offloaded on September 10 at the Sarroch terminal, on the southern coast of Sardinia, from the vessel Nissos Christiana, which departed from the Syrian port of Tartous on September 1 with approximately 640,000 barrels on board. The remaining 440,000 barrels are on the vessel docked at the Siot terminal as of September 16, according to CAS data. The vessel is managed by Kyklades Maritime Corp.
Vitol owns Saras, which operates the Sarroch refinery, with a production capacity of 300,000 barrels per day, the second largest in Italy. CAS data shows that crude shipments to the Sarroch terminal, totaling 136,000 barrels per day in August, typically come from Libya and Turkey, with Russia also supplying some volume for much of 2025. In August, flows from the country ceased after the EU, in mid-July, banned imports of Russian crude oil and refined petroleum products transported by sea.
Syria is in the early stages of recovery from a 14-year civil war and the United States lifted sanctions on the country in July, opening the door to trade relations with nations that respect US sanctions. Revenues from the sale of oil and gas are considered crucial to fund reconstruction activities.
It is unclear how much the sale of the crude oil yielded.
Prior to the civil war, oil production was around 380,000-400,000 barrels per day and the country exported these barrels primarily to Mediterranean markets. However, in recent years, production has fallen to a fraction of that figure, and the damage to oil fields and energy infrastructure will be expensive to refurbish to increase production. Before the 2011 uprising, Syria was a net exporter of oil and demand for petroleum products was met by refining crude oil domestically. Syria became a net importer of oil in 2012.
According to Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir, the country’s oil fields currently have a production capacity of up to 200,000 barrels per day, but cannot operate at full capacity due to damaged pipelines and refineries. Crude oil production is currently around 80,000-100,000 barrels per day, according to various estimates.
