World Tribune.com

Syria awards oil contract
to U.S. firm

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thursday, May 11, 2006

Syria has awarded a $127 million oil contract to a U.S. company.

The regime of President Bashar Assad has awarded Marathon Oil a contract to develop two oil fields in northern Syria. The Syrian government daily Tishrin said Marathon and a Syrian state-owned company would develop Al Shaer and Al Sharifah fields in Homs.

Under the deal, Marathon would be allowed to maintain the fields for 25 years, with an option for a five-year extension, Middle East Newsline reported. Tishrin said Marathon has assessed that the fields could produce two million cubic meters of gas and 5,000 barrels of oil per day.

The contract was announced as the United States renewed a ban on exports to Syria. A Syrian source was quoted by the Beirut-based Daily Star that the contract was bogus. Marathon has not announced the deal.


Copyright © 2006 East West Services, Inc.

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