SYRIA - Proposed Integrated Refining & Petrochemicals Complex At Deir Ez-Zor.

After years of discussions with Russian and Chinese companies, the Ministry of Oil & Mineral Resources on Dec. 27, 2005, announced that it had signed an MoU with "a Russian company" to have an oil refinery and petrochemicals complex built in the Deir ez-Zor region.

The press service of the ministry on Dec. 27 of that year said the $2.7 bn project was to be completed within five years and was to be located about 430 km north of Damascus. With an annual capacity of 1.6 million metric tons of gasoline, it said, the project was to create 2,500 new jobs.

According to the press release, the Syrian side was to provide 1,600 acres for a platform for the project as well as "the necessary infrastructure and benefits, while Russia's Credit Line investment company" was to "provide funding, builders and raw materials".

The release added: "Several Russian and foreign companies are expected to take part in the project. Crude oil will be imported to Syria from abroad... Negotiations are under way on purchasing excess [crude] oil from Syria at world prices for the project. Syria will receive between 15% and 60% of revenues from the project for 25 years and will assume complete ownership thereafter". Apparently this was to be a BOT venture. The ministry's release gave no further details. Nor did it mention the planned output of petrochemicals.

It had been known for some time that CNPC was negotiating with the ministry to have such a complex built in Deir ez-Zor to produce light fuels and aromatics. It was said the project was to be launched on BOT basis.

On May 19, 2006, MEED reported that the ministry had cancelled the Russian-proposed project. It quoted Deputy Oil Minister Hassan Zainab as saying the MoU for that had been signed in October 2005 with Stroytransgaz Oil Progress, a unit of Stroytransgaz which is affiliated with Russia's state-controlled energy giant Gazprom. Zainab said the refinery was to have a capacity of about 140,000 b/d. MEED quoted Zainab as saying: "We signed an MoU but we decided to reject [the proposal]. Another Russian company called Credit Line has submitted a proposal for a 140,000 b/d refinery complex to be located in the same area".

MEED of May 19, 2006, said the ministry was also in preliminary talks with Total for a $1 bn grassroots oil refinery with a capacity of 70,000 b/d to be located either at Deiz ez-Zor or east of Homs. It quoted Zainab as saying: "We are in talks with Total but there is no written proposal. What is fixed are our plans for a third refinery. Altogether we plan to have a new 140,000 b/d refinery at Deir ez-Zor, the [proposed] 70,000 b/d CNPC refinery and to upgrade the capacity of Banias [refinery].

On Nov. 21, 2003, MEED reported the then Oil Minister Ibrahim Haddad as announcing plans for a refinery to be built at Deir ez-Zor. He told MEED an international tender for the contract was to be issued in early 2005. By then a feasibility study to determine the configuration and capacity of the plant would have been completed. Beicip Franlab was later selected to do the feasibility study for this project.