Iraqi fuel convoys start overland transit to Syria's Baniyas terminal

Between 500 and 700 Iraqi fuel oil tankers — each reported to carry about 30 tons — are crossing daily via the al-Walid border point in Iraq (opposite Syria’s al-Tanf) toward Syria’s Baniyas refinery and oil terminal. Rutba district administrator Imad Mishal said the crossing is capable of handling more than 1,000 trucks per day but current flows are limited by delays in permits issued from Iraq’s national center for oil exports. Syrian authorities say the first convoy entered on April 1 and shipments are being unloaded into designated storage tanks at Baniyas for later transfer to the oil terminal and onward export.

Syrian officials are repairing pumps and expanding unloading capacity at Baniyas — which currently can store the cargo of roughly 300 tankers per day — to speed operations, and Damascus reopened the al-Tanf/al-Walid crossing on March 31 to boost economic ties with Iraq. Reuters reports Iraq’s SOMO signed contracts to deliver about 650,000 metric tons of fuel oil per month from April through June via overland transit through Syria; sources cited the easing of fighting in Syria and wider regional dynamics as factors making the route preferable despite higher costs. Iraqi and Syrian local officials describe the transit as a sign of renewed trade and energy cooperation. as reported by Enab Baladi