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Oil-sector corruption exposed
Syria’s Central Auditing and Inspection Commission revealed damages to public funds in several oil fields in Deir ez-Zor (eastern Syria) exceeding $8 million, alongside price differences in crude oil transport contracts estimated at about $20 million.
“exceeding $8 million, in addition to price differences in crude oil transport contracts”
The commission said its inspection teams uncovered violations and serious abuses affecting oil production and transport mechanisms, calibration, maintenance works, and contracts, with “indications of damages to public funds estimated at more than $8 million” tied to contracts and mismanagement in the Deir ez-Zor fields.
It reported that the Syrian government regained several oil fields in Deir ez-Zor at the beginning of this year, “most notably the Al-Omar field, which produces 20,000 barrels per day,” along with the Tank, Jeir, Ward, and Taim fields and the Koniko gas field.
A separate report described the same disclosure as “damages to public funds in several oil fields of Deir Ezzor (east Syria), with initial damages estimated at more than 28 million dollars,” and said the damages covered maintenance contracts, mismanagement, and price differences in transport contracts.
Suspensions, seizures, and courts
The commission issued decisions to suspend nine officials in Deir ez-Zor fields and referred them to the judiciary to complete investigations and legal procedures.
It also recommended “precautionary seizure of the assets of those involved” while expanding the investigation to other cases and facts uncovered by oversight work.
The decisions named officials including the managers of the Deir ez-Zor fields and oil transport and distribution in the Central Region, transport supervisors in the Deir ez-Zor fields and the Al-Omar field, and the contract supervisor and chairman of the supervisory committee in the Taim field.
Another outlet described the same referral and suspension as decisions to suspend 9 officials and refer them to the judiciary, adding that the commission recommended placing provisional seizures on the assets of those involved and expanding investigations into “several files and incidents revealed by the control work.”
Sector response and production stakes
The Syrian Petroleum Company affirmed its “full support for the supervisory work” carried out by the commission in sites and fields in Deir Ezzor Governorate, saying protecting public money is a “red line” with “no cover or protection for anyone proven to be responsible for corruption.”
“protecting public money is a red line”
It clarified that since the start of the control and investigation, it had placed “all required data and documents at the disposal of supervisory authorities” and provided “the necessary facilitations for their work.”
The Ministry of Energy announced that the country’s oil production reached 14.8 million barrels in the first half of 2026, a figure the report said reflects increased production, field rehabilitation, and development of the oil and gas sector’s infrastructure.
Across the disclosures, the commission’s findings tied the need for legal actions to “essential observations regarding the management and production of some wells, oil transport operations, and maintenance and contracting works in general,” with responsibilities to be determined after field verifications.