DEIR E-ZOR — In late January, al-Omar—Syria’s largest oil field, located in the country’s eastern Deir e-Zor province—was almost entirely deserted. Following the overnight withdrawal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), civilian employees had also abandoned the premises. Only a handful of informal refinery workers remained, standing listlessly in the bright desert sun. Under the SDF, makeshift refineries—which transform crude oil into a low-quality type of diesel known as mazot—proliferated in and around northeastern Syria’s oil fields, which had fallen into disrepair as foreign oil companies ceased their operations. Shell, a British company that operated in al-Omar, pulled out in 2011 when international sanctions were imposed on the Assad regime. In 2013 , armed opposition forces including Jabhat al-Nusra and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) captured the al-Omar oil field, which was later seized by the Islamic State (IS) in 2014 and finally by the SDF in 2017 . In the days after the new Syrian government’s forces took control of al-Omar just over a month ago, those involved in the local oil industry were waiting to see what the latest change in control would mean for them. “We have stopped all operations and are waiting for the government to issue further instructions,” Rami al-Ghanim, 37, a businessman who ran one of makeshift installations, known locally as “burners,” told Syria Direct on January 28. It would not take long for the instructions to come. On February 8, Damascus ordered the closure of all informal oil refineries across the province, citing health and environmental concerns. The next day, informal refinery workers at al-Omar protested the decision, which they said threatened the livelihoods of neighboring communities. Rami al-Ghanim, 37, stands in front of a crude oil burner he used to operate at Deir e-Zor’s al-Omar oil field, 28/1/2026 (Natacha Danon/Syria Direct) “Informal refineries will be relocated to an area in the eastern Deir e-Zor countryside, away from population centers to mitigate health and environmental impacts, then shut down once foreign companies start production,” a source at the Ministry of Energy told Syria Direct , requesting anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. On February 15, government security forces reportedly raided and burned a number of makeshift oil refineries in the eastern Deir e-Zor countryside—including in Dhiban, al-Jardhi and al-Tayyana—after their owners refused to shut them down, according to local media reports and videos circulated online. Syria Direct reached out to the Ministry of Energy’s press office regarding the incidents, but received no response. In the days that followed, dozens of refinery owners and workers protested the government’s decision to shut down the makeshift installations, blocking roads in the town of Dhiban. Last month, Shell sought a definitive withdrawal from al-Omar, requesting to transfer its shares in the oil field to the Syrian
Originally reported by Syria Direct. Published on ABN12.