Syria Begins Building Joint Syrian-Russian Oil Geology Data Center

Oil well in al Qahtaniyah, Syria (AFP)
Oil well in al Qahtaniyah, Syria (AFP)
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Syria Begins Building Joint Syrian-Russian Oil Geology Data Center

Oil well in al Qahtaniyah, Syria (AFP)
Oil well in al Qahtaniyah, Syria (AFP)

Syrian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Ghanem announced on Thursday that Syria is looking forward to constructing a data center for oil geology in Damascus with Moscow’s help, as part of a roadmap signed lately between the two countries.

In an interview with the Sputnik agency, Ghanem said his country would be contributing technical equipment to the project.

"This center will be located in Damascus. We have a timetable for [the project's] implementation and have already begun the construction. As for the special technologies for the center, they will be provided by the Russian side,” the Syrian Minister explained.

Ghanem said the center’s staff would include specialists from both Syria and Russia.

The center is part of the cooperation roadmap that the Syrian government signed with the Russian Energy Ministry during the joint Russian-Syrian intergovernmental commission meeting held on December 23-24 in Moscow.

"I believe the cooperation with the Gubkin University [Russian National University of Oil and Gas] will be fruitful. The center will become the key information hub for the entire oil geology sector," Ghanem said.

Meanwhile, top adviser to Syrian President Bashar Assad Bouthaina Shaaban said the US has 'absolutely no right' to Syria’s oil and warned of 'operations' against American troops.

She said her country is considering suing the US in an international court over the “theft of Syria’s oil.”

The German news agency quoted Shaaban as saying that Syria has begun an oil and gas exploration project in the Mediterranean with Russian companies.   

Last October, US President Donald Trump withdrew the majority of the US Armed Forces from Syria before the Pentagon announced that 600 soldiers were staying put to guard the country's oil fields.

Commenting on the situation in Idlib, Shaaban said the military operation there has begun and that Russian warplanes were supporting the Syrian Army.



US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
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US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on what it said was a Houthi-linked petroleum smuggling and sanctions evasion network across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates in fresh action targeting the Iran-backed militant group.

The US Treasury Department in a statement said the two individuals and five entities sanctioned on Tuesday were among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis.

"The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group’s access to the international financial system," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender.

"These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis’ terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes."

Among those targeted on Tuesday was Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, who the Treasury said manages a network of petroleum companies between Yemen and the United Arab Emirates and was one of the most prominent petroleum importers in Yemen.

Three companies in his network were also designated, with the Treasury saying they coordinated the delivery of approximately $12 million dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum products with a US-designated company to the Houthis.

Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian group Hamas began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.

In January, Trump re-designated the Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, aiming to impose harsher economic penalties in response to its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and against US warships defending the critical maritime area.

In May, the United States announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to shipping attacks, though the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel.

The Israeli military attacked Houthi targets in Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday in its latest assault on the militants, who have been striking ships bound for Israel and launching missiles against it.