By Robert Harvey, Ahmad Ghaddar, Enes Tunagur and Jonathan Saul
LONDON (Reuters) – Syria is seeking to import oil via local intermediaries after its first post-Assad import tenders garnered little interest from major oil traders due to ongoing sanctions and financial risks, several trade sources told Reuters.
Syria’s caretaker government issued tenders to import 4.2 million barrels of crude oil, as well as 100,000 metric tons each of fuel oil and diesel “as soon as possible”, according to copies of the tender documents.
The tenders, which closed on Monday, have not been awarded and the government is now negotiating with local companies to meet the requirement, the sources said.
Difficulties in finding large fuel suppliers could compound energy security issues the new authorities in Syria are facing, after Iran appears to have suspended the regular deliveries of oil it was previously sending.
Reuters could not confirm the names of the local companies, or which companies might be able to sell them the large volumes of oil sought in the tender.
Syria’s petroleum ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Syria’s newly appointed president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said on Thursday he will form an inclusive transitional government representing diverse communities that will build institutions and run the country until it can hold free and fair elections.
Major oil traders did not participate in the tenders, with sources at the firms citing sanctions and financial risks.
“There is still no clarity on whether the EU sanctions have been lifted. This is also compounded by broader banking issues,” a Middle East trader familiar with the tender said.
The EU said on Monday it had agreed a roadmap to ease sanctions on Syria to kickstart its recovery, but that it should take a gradual and reversible approach to retain leverage.
Payment terms also deterred potential sellers, the sources said. These included selling on open credit for later repayment, and sellers having to make a $200,000-500,000 performance bond to a Syrian bank as a guarantee for the delivery of oil, a term that traders said is uncommon.
Syria’s 13-year civil war decimated the country’s energy industry and the new government faces an uphill battle to restore energy security.
Oil output in areas under government control stands at 10,000 barrels per day, the country’s oil minister Ghiath Diab told CNBC Arabia earlier this month, versus about 383,000 bpd before international sanctions imposed in 2011.
No crude shipments have arrived from Iran since November, according to data from shipping analytics firm Kpler. Some fuel is being produced in Syria’s two refineries, the minister told CNBC.
Syria also issued an import tender for 20,000 tons of LPG, which closed on Jan. 20. Reuters was not able to confirm the result of that tender.
(Reporting by Robert Harvey, Ahmad Ghaddar, Jonathan Saul and Enes Tunagur in London, Editing by Alex Lawler and David Evans)
