• Syria’s Baniyas refinery was operating at a reduced capacity of 95,000 bpd
• Syria exported 380,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2010

DAMASCUS: Syria will build a new oil refinery with a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day, the Syrian energy minister told government-owned Ekhbariya television on Thursday.

The channel reported on Sunday that Syria’s Baniyas refinery was operating at a reduced capacity of 95,000 bpd due to degradation in some of its facilities, and estimated the country’s current total oil production capacity at around 130,000 bpd.

Syria exported 380,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2010, a year before protests against Bashar Assad’s rule spiralled into a nearly 14-year war that devastated the country’s economy and infrastructure — including oil production.

Assad was toppled in December last year and the government that replaced him pledged to revive Syria’s economy.

Reuters