Oil theft the untold driver of Syria’s enduring humanitarian crisis

Great to see Gulfsands Senior Advisor Sir Alan Duncan KCMG on the front page of Arab News, drawing attention to one of the untold drivers of the enduring humanitarian crisis in Syria - oil.

His article details how international sanctions imposed on the oil industry in Syria in 2011 have had the unintended effect of allowing the country’s oil wells and refineries to fall into the hands of unauthorised actors including the self-proclaimed Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Not only are vast quantities of oil being stolen, but these groups are also causing enormous damage to the environment through poor practices. Frequent oil spills have contaminated the soil and poisoned Syria’s waterways, in turn decimating agriculture and severely affecting the health and wellbeing of the local population. Cancer cases are increasingly concentrated in the country’s oil-producing north – and have grown up to three times faster than the comparative period before the war.

It does not have to be this way. The energy industry could, with the right impetus, be the driver of a radical and impactful solution to improve the lives and wellbeing of the Syrian people. This is what we at Gulfsands are pioneering with #ProjectHope. Through the selected lifting of sanctions or granting of specific waivers, international energy companies such as ours would return to parts of Syria and restore safe operations. Correct production standards can be reintroduced, and the environmental and health damage can begin to be reversed. And above all, the revenues generated from this oil production can be channelled into a humanitarian fund dedicated to meeting Syria’s critical needs — not least healthcare, water and schools.

Continued inaction is, as Sir Alan says, “unacceptable and the growing consequences intolerable”. I invite you to read his article, share your thoughts, and get in touch if you’d like to help us drive the international community to make a lasting change for Syria.

To read the full article: https://arab.news/6an8y