Tartous, Sept. 27 (SANA) Syria has begun transporting imported gasoline to Iraq through its Baniyas oil terminal under a renewable three-month agreement, with plans to increase traffic to about 200 tanker trucks a day, the Syrian Petroleum Company said Sunday.
The first batch of 57 trucks began moving Thursday through the al-Tanf border crossing, Ahmed Qubbaji, the company’s deputy chief executive for transportation and storage, told SANA. The arrangement is intended to help secure supplies for Iraq amid disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Qatar-based UCC buys the gasoline from international suppliers, while Syrian authorities handle its transportation in return for transit fees, Qubbaji said.
Loading operations at Baniyas
Two ships have unloaded gasoline into storage tanks at Baniyas, where loading and unloading continue around the clock, Qubbaji said. The company has prepared eight positions that can fill tanker trucks simultaneously.
Workers check each truck’s tank before loading, verify the cargo weight and seal the tank. Customs officials then check the paperwork and truck numbers before the vehicles head toward Iraq.
Qubbaji said the company began with a limited number of trucks to test its equipment, cargo controls and convoy arrangements before increasing shipments.
Wider transit and pipeline plans
Between 1,000 and 1,200 trucks carrying Iraqi oil already cross Syrian territory each day, Qubbaji said, with traffic varying according to weather, transport activity and tanker arrivals.
Gasoline and fuel oil are currently transported through al-Tanf. The company is considering other border crossings and additional cargoes for transit to Iraq, including coal and sulfur, he said.
The company is also preparing the Arab Gas Pipeline toward the Syrian-Jordanian border and a branch to Lebanon. Qubbaji said the Lebanon branch could be ready in about 15 days if the remaining work is completed.
Syria and Iraq have signed a memorandum of understanding on the proposed Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline, with foreign companies including Chevron, Total and UCC involved, Qubbaji said. Talks to turn the memorandum into a contract are in their final stages, he added.
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