Syria's oil and gas comes with strategic potential #Syria has the potential to significantly increase its #oil and natural #gas production, which can provide energy and government revenue critical to the country's stability and reconstruction. Syria was an oil exporter in the decades prior to its civil war, and its natural gas production started to increase on the eve of the war. The country was self-sufficient in terms of energy supplies. Sales of oil and gas provided 20% of the government’s revenue. Most of Syria’s oil and natural gas fields are located in eastern Syria, in areas that are currently largely under the control of the predominately Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and where US forces are deployed. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated in 2015 that Syria possessed 2.5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. In 2010, Syria produced 383,000 barrels per day of oil. Estimates of Syria’s oil output on the eve of Bashar al-Assad’s ouster range between 40,000–80,000 barrels per day, while Iran was providing the bulk of Syria’s oil supplies, up to 100,000 barrels a day. In 2015, the EIA estimated Syria’s natural gas reserves to be 240 billion cubic meters (bcm). Syria’s natural gas is used for power production. According to British Petroleum (BP), Syria produced 8.7 bcm of natural gas in 2011, which fell to 3 bcm annually by 2024. According to International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates, natural gas provided one-quarter of Syria’s electricity supplies in 2022.

Iranian-backed Militants Attack Al-Assad Airbase, Iraq | CENTCOM "At approximately 6:30 p.m. (Baghdad time) time Jan. 20, multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were launched by Iranian-backed militants in Western Iraq targeting al-Assad Airbase. Most of the missiles were intercepted by the base’s air defense systems while others impacted on the base. Damage assessments are ongoing. A number of U.S. personnel are undergoing evaluation for traumatic brain injuries. At least one Iraqi service member was wounded."

Let's review the recent strikes between pro-Iranian groups and the Israel Defense Forces. ▪️ In the past 24 hours, the Israelis have launched three strikes. They targeted positions of the Syrian Arab Army in the villages of Karfa and Izra in the province of Daraa. According to the Israelis, these positions were responsible for firing at IDF positions in the occupied part of the Golan Heights. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that there have been over 20 deaths in IDF strikes, including four officers. However, there is only confirmation of the death of one senior lieutenant of the SAA available online. ▪️ Today, the Israelis once again targeted the international airport of Aleppo, disrupting logistics processes in northern Syria. These attacks do not seem to bother the pro-Iranian formations. In fact, by leaking false information to the Israelis and provoking attacks, the Iranians are fueling hatred towards Israel among the Syrians. ▪️ From the Iraqi side, pro-Iranian formations fired at the positions of the US Armed Forces in the village of Khurab al-Jair in the Hasakah province. There is no information available about the results of this attack, but it affects the logistics route of the International Coalition in the Syrian Trans-Euphrates region. ▪️ In one of the attacks on the American airbase at Ain al-Assad in Iraq, one US military personnel was killed and over 20 were injured. 🔻Overall, the pro-Iranian formations are maintaining a certain level of confrontation. Sometimes, such actions bring success, as seen in the attack on Ain al-Assad. However, these approaches are not yet capable of achieving systemic results. It is not the goal of the pro-Iranian formations to initiate such work. Nevertheless, they are engaging in partisan activity, taking into account media exaggerations, at the required level for now.