Syria's Kurds take control of oil fields, now what?
After Kurdish forces took control of parts of northeastern Syria, they have found themselves facing many challenges, including the management of their oil wells.
DERBASIYA, Syria — Five years into the Syrian revolution, entire cities have been brought to rubble and a population has been forcibly displaced by the Syrian regime or the forces that controlled the areas deserted by the Syrian regime's army.
All military forces, such as the Islamic State (IS), Jabhat al-Nusra and the opposition Kurdish forces, sought to control the areas rich with underground resources. These resources are concentrated in Deir ez-Zor and the Kurdish areas in the Rojava region, a de facto autonomous region of Syria.
Oil wells are scattered across the Kurdish areas, in particular in Rmeilan. After the outbreak of the Syrian revolution and with the displacement of the area’s residents to neighboring countries such as Iraq and Turkey, the oil wells were almost shut down.
The authorities tried to operate some of the wells, at least partly, to allow the residents to get by and to deter them from resorting to dangerous means of oil extraction that caused explosions, which led to deaths and injuries.
