Israeli army advancing in southwestern Syria
Israeli forces are advancing into the Wadi al-Ruqqad area, in the western countryside of Daraa, southwestern Syria, firing warning shots.
|
|
|
Two-way corridor opening up in Strait of Hormuz as gasoline moves from Syria to Iraq
Petrol from Iraq to Syria has begun moving by road, establishing a two-way energy corridor through a route Baghdad has used to export fuel since the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The first cargo, about 32,800 tonnes on board the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Avanti, was unloaded at Syria’s Baniyas refinery before being loaded into trucks this week, according to Tareq Shallash, director of the Refining Directorate at state-owned Syrian Petroleum Company, who spoke with Reuters.
Shallash said 77 tanker trucks had already left Baniyas for the Iraqi border and loading was continuing. Further shipments were expected, he said.
“A contract was signed between SOMO and the Qatari company to supply Iraq with improved gasoline through the port of Baniyas by road tankers,” Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesperson Saleem al-Rikabi told Reuters.
The petrol was neither produced in Syria nor drawn from stocks intended for the Syrian market. The operation is being conducted under a transit contract between the Syrian Petroleum Company and Qatar’s UCC Holding, which Shallash said was supplying the fuel and overseeing transportation.
The route had previously carried fuel oil from Iraq to Syrian ports before shipment by sea. Shallash said future agreements could expand the corridor to other petroleum products, crude oil or other goods.
|
|
|
