British Company Concerned over its Oil ‘Rights’ in Northeastern Syria

A US armored vehicle drives past an oilfield in the countryside of al-Qahtaniyah town in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province near the Turkish border, on Aug. 4, 2020. (AFP)
A US armored vehicle drives past an oilfield in the countryside of al-Qahtaniyah town in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province near the Turkish border, on Aug. 4, 2020. (AFP)
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British Company Concerned over its Oil ‘Rights’ in Northeastern Syria

A US armored vehicle drives past an oilfield in the countryside of al-Qahtaniyah town in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province near the Turkish border, on Aug. 4, 2020. (AFP)
A US armored vehicle drives past an oilfield in the countryside of al-Qahtaniyah town in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province near the Turkish border, on Aug. 4, 2020. (AFP)

British company Gulfsands Petroleum has distanced itself from the partnership agreement between the United States’ Delta Crescent Energy company and the Kurdish autonomous administration east of the Euphrates River in northeastern Syria.

Officials from the firm told Asharq Al-Awsat that they will “defend the company’s rights” to invest in oil in Block 26, which is located east of the Euphrates and believed to produce 20,000 barrels of oil per day.

Gulfsands had signed a deal with the Syrian government in 2003 to invest and develop Block 26. According to the agreement, two-thirds of production will go to the government after calculating costs. Since 2011, the block came under the control of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and later the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) due to the ongoing Syrian conflict and the American and European sanctions against the Damascus regime.

Officials from Gulfsands told Asharq Al-Awsat that more than 26 million barrels of oil have been produced from Block 26 in four years. The production was unlicensed and it is unknown who received the oil or the extent of the damage that has been inflicted on the field.

Gulfsands has invested more than 350 million dollars in Block 26, which experts estimate is worth billions of dollars.

American investment
Prior to the eruption of the conflict in 2011, Syria used to produce some 360,000 barrels of oil per day. Production has since dropped to around 60,000. Some 90 percent of its oilfields and half of its gas fields are controlled by the SDF, which is backed by the US-led anti-ISIS coalition.

In Aril, Delta Crescent Energy struck a deal with the autonomous administration to obtained a license from the US Treasury to operate in northeastern Syria seeing as the war-torn country’s oil sector is under American and European sanctions.

Delta Crescent Energy was established in the US state of Delaware in February 2019. Its partners include former US ambassador to Denmark James Cain, James Reese, a former officer in the Army’s elite Delta Force, and John Dorrier Jr., a former executive at GulfSands Petroleum, reported Politico in August.

In July, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who is close to President Donald Trump, declared before Congress that SDF chief Mazloum Abdi had informed him of the signing of an oil investment agreement with an American company. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the administration supports the deal and said it is intended to “modernize” the oilfields. “The deal took a little longer ... than we had hoped, and now we’re in implementation,” he said.

The deal was, however, widely criticized by Damascus, Moscow, Tehran and Ankara. They slammed it as “political recognition of the Kurdish administration” and violation of the Astana agreement reached between Russia, Iran and Turkey. Washington defended the deal, saying: “Syrian oil is for the Syrian people and we remain committed to the unity and territorial integrity of Syria. The United States government does not own, control, or manage the oil resources in Syria. The populations in areas liberated from ISIS make their own decisions on local governance.”

Protecting oil
“The goal is to get the production back up to where it was before the civil war and sanctions,” said Ambassador Cain according to Politico.

“I think this company’s going to improve the viability of the northern oil fields to make them more productive,” Graham said. “Conceptually it makes sense that we should, instead of just writing checks, help people help themselves.”

In October 2019, Graham played a role in persuading Trump to keep American forces deployed east of the Euphrates River after he had announced that he wanted to pull back the troop to the border with Turkey. Trump later confirmed that a small number of forces will remain in oil-rich areas, stressing that the US has “secured and protected” the oil. Indeed, some 500 soldiers remain east of the Euphrates and they have been supplied with better military gear to protect the oilfields.

Many questions have been asked about the role the American military and administration are playing in the new oil deal. Pentagon spokesperson Jessica McNulty noted that the Department of Defense “does not have an affiliation with any private companies in regard to the oilfields in northeast Syria.” However, she added that US forces in the region are “securing critical petroleum infrastructure in northeast Syria to deny ISIS access to critical resources and revenue,” reported Politico. McNulty also noted that the oil resources "currently provide some of the funding necessary for the SDF to conduct operations" against ISIS.

Sovereign rights
The deal between the American company and autonomous administration calls for the establishment of at least two makeshift oil refineries in the region east of the Euphrates that can produce 20,000 barrels of oil per day. The production will meet some of the local demand.

Other sources, however, weighed the possibility that the deal could allow operators to expand their work and invest in other oilfields. This would raise concerns among other oil companies, including Gulfsands.

Officials at the firm said they were “surprised” with the deal that was struck between Delta Crescent Energy and the Kurdish administration. One official said Gulfsands continues to investigate the details of the agreement and was determined to “protect” its rights. Moreover, he said that the firm was not involved in politics, but hopes that peace and stability will be restored in Syria.

Gulfsands remains committed to its project in Syria and is determined to protect its rights in line with international laws, he added. The company has signed a binding agreement with a sovereign state and it expects that its rights be recognized, hoping that it will resume its work when conditions permit it.

On the other end of the divide, Kurdish officials defended their deal with Washington, saying it had political undertones seeing as it was signed directly between an American company and the autonomous administration without having to obtain the Syrian government’s approval.

“The political significance of the deal is important and is tantamount of recognition” of the autonomous authority, he explained. Furthermore, it eases concerns that the US may suddenly pull out its troops from the region east of the Euphrates.



A Presidential Campaign Unlike Any Other Ends on Tuesday. Here’s How We Got Here

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Atrium Health Amphitheater in Macon, Georgia, on November 3, 2024. (AFP)
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Atrium Health Amphitheater in Macon, Georgia, on November 3, 2024. (AFP)
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A Presidential Campaign Unlike Any Other Ends on Tuesday. Here’s How We Got Here

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Atrium Health Amphitheater in Macon, Georgia, on November 3, 2024. (AFP)
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Atrium Health Amphitheater in Macon, Georgia, on November 3, 2024. (AFP)

It's the election that no one could have foreseen.

Not so long ago, Donald Trump was marinating in self-pity at Mar-a-Lago after being impeached twice and voted out of the White House. Even some of his closest allies were looking forward to a future without the charismatic yet erratic billionaire leading the Republican Party, especially after his failed attempt to overturn an election ended in violence and shame. When Trump announced his comeback bid two years ago, the New York Post buried the article on page 26.

At the same time, Kamala Harris was languishing as a low-profile sidekick to President Joe Biden. Once seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, she struggled with both her profile and her portfolio, disappointing her supporters and delighting her critics. No one was talking about Harris running for the top job — they were wondering if Biden should replace her as his running mate when he sought a second term.

But on Tuesday, improbable as it may have seemed before, Americans will choose either Trump or Harris to serve as the next president. It’s the final chapter in one of the most bewildering, unpredictable and consequential sagas in political history. For once, the word “unprecedented” has not been overused.

“If someone had told you ahead of time what was going to happen in this election, and you tried to sell it as a book, no one would believe it,” said Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster with more than four decades of experience. “It’s energized the country and it’s polarized the country. And all we can hope is that we come out of it better in the end.”

Supporters of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participate in a caravan to show their support in West Palm Beach, Florida, on November 3, 2024. (AFP)

History was and will be made. The United States has never elected a president who has been convicted of a crime. Trump survived not one but two assassination attempts. Biden dropped out in the middle of an election year and Harris could become the first female president. Fundamental tenets about democracy in the most powerful nation on earth will be tested like no time since the Civil War.

And that’s not to mention the backdrop of simultaneous conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, hacking by foreign governments, an increasingly normalized blizzard of misinformation and the intimate involvement of the world’s richest man, Elon Musk.

For now, the only thing the country can agree on is that no one knows how the story will end.

Trump rebounded from disgrace to the Republican nomination

Republicans could have been finished with Trump after Jan. 6, 2021.

That's the day he fired up his supporters with false claims of voter fraud, directed them to march on the US Capitol while Congress was ceremonially certifying Biden's election victory, and then stood by as rioting threatened lawmakers and his own vice president.

But not enough Republicans joined with Democrats to convict Trump in an impeachment trial, clearing a path for him to run for office again.

Trump started planning a comeback even as some leaders in his party hoped he would be eclipsed by Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, or Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations.

In the year after Trump announced that he would run against Biden, he faced criminal charges four times. Two of the indictments were connected to his attempts to overturn his election defeat. Another involved his refusal to return classified documents to the federal government after leaving office. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, and none of those cases have been resolved.

However, a fourth indictment in New York led to Trump becoming the first president in US history to be criminally convicted. A jury found him guilty on May 30 of falsifying business records over hush money payments to a porn star who claimed they had an affair.

Supporters listen to Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump as he speaks during a campaign rally at the Atrium Health Amphitheater on November 03, 2024 in Macon, Georgia. (Getty Images/AFP)

None of it slowed Trump, who practically ignored his opponents during the primary as he barreled toward the Republican presidential nomination. A mugshot from one of his arrests was adopted by his followers as a symbol of resisting a corrupt system.

Trump's candidacy capitalized on anger over inflation and frustration about migrants crossing the southern border. He also hammered Biden as too old for the job even though he's only four years younger than the president.

But Democrats also thought Biden, 81, would be better off considering retirement than a second term. So when Biden struggled through a presidential debate on June 27 — losing his train of thought, appearing confused, stammering through answers — he faced escalating pressure within his party to drop out of the race.

As Biden faced a political crisis, Trump went to an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. A young man evaded police, climbed to the top of a nearby building and fired several shots with a semiautomatic rifle.

Trump grabbed at his ear and dropped to the stage. While Secret Service agents crowded around him, he lurched to his feet with a streak of blood across his face, thrust his fist in the air and shouted “fight, fight, fight!” An American flag billowed overhead.

It was an instantly iconic moment. Trump's path to the White House seemed clearer than ever — perhaps even inevitable.

Harris gets an unexpected opportunity at redemption

The vice president was getting ready to do a puzzle with her nieces on the morning of July 21 when Biden called. He had decided to end his reelection bid and endorse Harris as his replacement.

She spent the rest of the day making dozens of phone calls to line up support, and she had enough to secure the nomination within two days.

It was a startling reversal of fortune. Harris had flamed out when running for president four years earlier, dropping out before the first Democratic primary contest. Biden resuscitated her political career by choosing her as his running mate, and she became the first woman, Black person and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president.

But Harris' struggles did not end there. She fumbled questions about immigration, oversaw widespread turnover in her office and faded into the background rather than use her historic status as a platform.

All of that started to change on June 24, 2022, when the US Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to abortion enshrined by Roe v. Wade. Harris became the White House's top advocate on an issue that reshaped American politics.

US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris walks on stage as she arrives for a campaign rally at Michigan State University's Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Michigan, on November 3, 2024. (AFP)

She also proved to be more nimble than before. Shortly after returning from a weeklong trip to Africa, her team orchestrated a spur-of-the-moment venture to Nashville so Harris could show support for two Tennessee lawmakers who had been expelled for protesting for gun control.

Meanwhile, Harris was networking with local politicians, business leaders and cultural figures to gain ideas and build connections. When Biden dropped out, she was better positioned than many realized to seize the moment.

The day after she became the candidate, Harris jetted to Wilmington, Delaware to visit campaign headquarters. Staff members had spent the morning printing “Kamala” and “Harris for President” signs to tape up next to obsolete “Biden-Harris” posters.

There were 106 days until the end of the election.

The battle between Trump and Harris will reshape the country While speaking to campaign staff in Wilmington, Harris used a line that has become a mantra, chanted by supporters at rallies across the country. “We are not going back,” she declared.

A mariachi performer wears a pin for Democratic candidate for president US Vice President Kamala Harris at an election event for her and Democratic candidate for US Senate Ruben Gallego at Ocotillo in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, 03 November 2024. (EPA)

It's a fitting counterpoint to Trump's slogan, “make America great again,” which he has wielded since launching his first campaign more than eight years ago.

The two candidates have almost nothing in common, something that was on display on Sept. 10, when Harris and Trump met for the first time for their only televised debate.

Harris promised to restore abortion rights and use tax breaks to support small businesses and families. She said she would “be a president for all Americans.”

Trump took credit for nominating the justices that helped overturn Roe, pledged to protect the US economy with tariffs and made false claims about migrants eating people's pets. He called Harris “the worst vice president in the history of our country.”

Harris was widely viewed as gaining the upper hand. Trump insisted he won but refused a second debate. The race remained remarkably close.

Pundits and pollsters have spent the final weeks straining to identify any shift in the candidates' chances. Microscopic changes in public opinion could swing the outcome of the election. It might take days to count enough votes to determine who wins.

The outcome, whenever it becomes clear, could be just another surprise in a campaign that's been full of them.