Representatives of the Qatirji company and leaders of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) met in the Tabqa Civil Council — affiliated with the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria — in early August to discuss the possibility of increasing oil shipments that the company, which is listed on the US sanctions list, transports between government-held areas and those controlled by the SDF in northeast Syria. Qatirji demanded to raise the weekly number of tankers to 400, from 250, while the SDF demanded that the Syrian government provide it with 100 tankers of diesel and gasoline, instead of 50.
Another meeting is scheduled between Qatirji representatives and leaders of the Raqqa Military Council next week in the city of Raqqa, to discuss a mechanism to protect the tankers from being targeted with explosive devices by unknown individuals in the area.
This comes as the SDF prevented Qatarji’s oil tankers from entering its areas of control Aug. 7, after the government violated an understanding reached between the two parties earlier, whereby the SDF would supply the government with 200 crude oil tankers from the fields of Rmelan and Deir ez-Zor, in exchange for providing the SDF with 50 tankers loaded with gasoline and diesel. Qatirji also refrained from paying financial dues related to previous oil shipments.
A source in the Autonomous Administration told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “After several rounds of negotiations and meetings between Qatirji representatives and SDF leaders, an agreement was reached [in early August] to provide the regime-controlled areas with 400 oil tankers per week through al-Hawra and al-Tabqa crossings from the Rmelan and al-Shaddadi fields. Qatirji would transport them to the Homs refinery, at a price ranging between $3,240 and $3,960 per tanker, which contains 180 barrels of oil. Thus, the price of one barrel will range between $18 and $22, depending on the quality of the oil. Qatirji would also supply our areas with 100 tankers of refined diesel and gasoline weekly.”
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