First Fuel Shipments Begin Moving from Syria to Iraq Through Border Crossings

The Syrian Petroleum Company announced on Friday that the first shipments of gasoline have begun moving from Syrian ports toward border crossings for onward transport to Iraq, as part of efforts to import an initial batch of fuel through Syrian territory.

Safwan Sheikh Ahmed, director of institutional communications at the company, said three tankers carrying petroleum products had arrived at Syrian ports. The first tanker, carrying around 32,000 tons of gasoline, has completed unloading, while the other two are awaiting their turn to begin the process.

He added that tanker loading operations began on September 22, with two convoys so far prepared for transport. The first consisted of 10 tankers, while the second included 55.

The ports and technical teams are also ready to increase loading capacity to around 150 tankers per day, pending the arrival of additional tankers to complete the shipments and transport them through border crossings into Iraq.

The shipments come as Baghdad and several Iraqi provinces have been experiencing gasoline supply shortages for several weeks, following a temporary improvement in the market last month. Iraqi authorities have been working to address the shortage and secure additional fuel supplies.