Foreign Ministry: Syrian losses 107.1 billion $ in oil and gas sector as result of American occupation’s practices

On August 29th, Syria confirmed that the practices of the United States, whose forces are on the Syrian territory illegally, in addition to the theft and illegal trafficking of terrorist groups and the separatist “Qasd” militia caused great losses and destruction in the sector of extracting, supplying, distributing and investing oil, gas and mineral wealth since 2011. Since then, the direct and indirect losses until the middle of this year amounted to 107.1 billion dollars. 

In two letters to the Secretary -General of the United Nations and the President of the Security Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates stated that, according to the numbers of the Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources and its accurate statistics, the direct losses to this main vital sector amounted 24.2 billion dollars. 

The Ministry said that the estimated value of these losses caused by extraction, smuggling and illegal trade in oil, gas and Syrian metal wealth until the mid of 2022 reached 18.2 billion dollars.

The Ministry indicated that these losses are also caused by the sabotage and theft of facilities for extracting and transporting oil and gas and mineral wealth by terrorist groups. The estimated value of the losses caused by these crimes amounted to 3.2 billion dollars in addition to the bombing and aggression operations committed by the so -called (international coalition) on the Syrian oil and gas installations. The estimated value of the losses caused by the work of the aggression amounted to $ 2.8 billion. 

The Ministry said that the estimated value of indirect losses until the middle of this year amounted to 82.9 billion dollars. It represents the values of the loss of Syria’s production of crude oil, natural gas, home gas, various oil derivatives and mineral wealth.

The Ministry pointed out that, according to the numbers and statistics listed above, the total estimated value of the losses of the oil and gas sector and mineral wealth in Syria until the middle of this year is 107.1 billion dollars. 

The Ministry confirmed that Syria retains the  right to take legal measures stipulated in international law and the United Nations Charter in order to demand compensation for the direct and indirect losses inflicted the oil, gas and mineral wealth sector. 

The Ministry stressed that, according to the principles of international law and the United Nations, the governments of the countries that participate in the armed forces shall bear the ranks of the so -called illegal (international coalition) led by the United States and was involved in the acts of aggression committed by this alliance, all legal, moral and financial responsibilities for direct and indirect losses to the Syrian oil and gas sector. 

In its two letters, the Ministry indicated that Syria is still facing ,till today, serious negative repercussions and effects resulting from the control of the American occupation forces on the natural and energy resources in Syria in parallel with Washington exploiting, destroying, wasting, and exhausting Syrian natural resources. This led to depriving the Syrian people of investing and benefiting from these natural resources and their revenues at a time when Syria is already suffering from a severe shortage of energy materials.

The Ministry underlined the need for the United Nations General Secretariat and the Security Council to adopt a serious and practical approach in dealing with the situation in Syria that is based on a fair and independent conviction that the implementation of the relevant United Nations resolutions cannot be achieved with the continued control of the United States and its separatist militias on oil, gas and mineral resources in Syria. 

The Ministry called on the General Secretariat and the Security Council to study the content of these two letters and adopt them as an official document of the General Assembly documents according to the temporary agenda of the seventy -seventh regular session. It called for dealing with the humanitarian and economic situation in Syria with more seriousness and efficiency, especially in light of what was stated in the Security Council Resolution 2642 regarding the imperative of expanding the scope of humanitarian activities in Syria, including early recovery projects aimed at providing water, sanitation services, health care, education, shelter and electricity to restore the possibility of obtaining basic services.

The Ministry said that the time factor is crucial today more than before in order for the General Secretariat and the Security Council to put an end to the politicization of the humanitarian and economic situation in Syria and the obstruction of the return of Syrians to their normal lives, including the displaced. It’s noteworthy thatsome countries are still continuing until this time to steal Syrian oil, gas, and mineral wealth, impose an economic blockade, and obstruct early recovery projects and the rebuildingprocess.

Inas Abdulkareem