📰 Energy minister says Syria receives final shipment of Saudi oil grant

QAMISHLI, syria/" class="auto-internal-link">syria (North Press) – Syria’s transitional administration declared on Monday the arrival of the second and final shipment of a Saudi-funded oil grant, a move authorities say will provide temporary relief to the country’s strained energy sector. Mohammed al-Bashir, Minister of Energy in the transitional administration, stated the latest batch includes one million barrels of crude oil, completing the total Saudi grant of 1. 65 million barrels. “I am pleased to announce the arrival of the second and final installment of the Saudi oil grant, estimated at one million barrels,” al-Bashir stated in a statement. “This brings the total volume of the grant to one million six hundred and fifty thousand barrels. ” The first shipment of the grant arrived on Nov. 17 and was sent to state refineries to backing electricity generation and fuel supplies, as per the ministry/" class="auto-internal-link">ministry.

The Saudi oil aid is part of a broader memorandum of understanding signed on Sep. 11 between the syrian Ministry of Energy and the Saudi Fund for Development.   The agreement includes direct backing aimed at stabilizing key public services, particularly the electricity grid, which continues to face repeated outages due to fuel shortages. Energy authorities say the grant will cover only a portion of national demand but will help mitigate immediate shortages as winter approaches. Notably, economists, however, warn that without structural reforms, Syria’s fuel crisis is likely to resurface.   Saudi Arabia has gradually expanded its relief and development aid to Syrian institutions since earlier phases of regional normalization.

The Sep. 11 memorandum between the Syrian Ministry of Energy and the Saudi Fund for Development marked the first significant-scale Saudi contribution to Syria’s energy sector since the crisis commenced. Syria has faced chronic fuel shortages for more than a decade due to damaged infrastructure, declining domestic production, and sanctions. These shortages have led to long electricity outages, limited public transport, and rose costs for households and businesses.

While the Saudi grant offers temporary relief, analysts note that sustainable improvement requires significant investment in refineries, power plants, and fuel import mechanisms—projects that remain constrained by political uncertainty and financial limitations. Reporting by Abdelsalam Khoja Editing by Jwan Shekaki