Syria turns to Russia for oil as supplies jump 75%
Photo: Russia becomes the main oil supplier to Syria (Getty Images)
Russia has become the main supplier of oil to Syria, despite the fact that it is sheltering former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, according to Reuters.
According to the agency’s estimates, based on official disclosures and vessel-tracking data from LSEG, MarineTraffic, and Shipnext, Russian oil supplies to Syria increased by 75% in 2026 — to around 60,000 barrels per day.
These volumes represent a small share of Russia’s total exports but have become the primary source for Syria, where domestic production significantly lags behind demand.
Syria’s largest oil field, Al-Omar in Deir ez-Zor province, produces about 5,000 barrels per day, while the country’s total output in 2025 was around 35,000 barrels per day — far below the pre-war level of 350,000.
At the same time, Syria’s demand stands at 120,000–150,000 barrels per day, while an additional roughly 50,000 barrels, according to officials, are smuggled from Lebanon.
In 2025, Russia delivered 19 shipments of oil to Syria totaling 16.8 million barrels (about 46,000 barrels per day), according to data from Kpler and a government official. The supplies are carried by tankers under Western sanctions.
Before the fall of Assad’s regime in 2024, Iran was the main oil supplier to the country, but deliveries stopped after the change of power.
A representative of the state-run Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) said that Damascus is trying to diversify supplies and sought to strike a deal with Turkey, but without success.
Two analysts and three Syrian officials told Reuters that the trade is driven by economic necessity for Damascus, while giving Moscow leverage in a country where it maintains two military bases.
Syrian economist Karam Shaar noted that such trade could make Syria’s energy sector vulnerable to the reimposition of Western sanctions.
Earlier, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service reported that Russia plans to increase the number of oil tankers sailing under the Russian flag.
At the same time, a new package of anti-Russian sanctions being prepared by the European Union is expected to target Russia’s shadow fleet, which allows the country to generate oil revenues.
