US firm HKN Energy takes over 7 oil fields from Syria's Kurds
HKN Energy has begun operating seven oil fields under a 25-year agreement with Damascus, marking the first major production-sharing deal between Syria's new government and an international oil company.
A Texas-based oil and gas company, HKN Energy, formally took over production at seven oil fields in Kurdish-administered northeastern Syria on Sunday, a top executive has confirmed.
The executive, who spoke exclusively to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, provided extensive details of the 25-year agreement that was concluded in April between HKN Energy and Syria’s state-run Syrian Petroleum Company. It is the first international oil company to have signed a production-sharing agreement with Syria’s new government, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The oil will be trucked to refineries and export terminals in Baniyas on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, another person familiar with the details of the agreement said.
HKN is partnered with Qatar’s UCC Holding but will be the sole operator. UCC Holding signed a memorandum of understanding with the Syrian government in February together with US major Chevron to evaluate oil and gas exploration in Syrian waters.
