Syria to launch major modernization of Baniyas oil refinery

Shafaq News – Damascus

Syria’s General Petroleum Corporation announced on Sunday a large-scale modernization project at the Baniyas refinery, set to begin next year, assuring that local fuel supplies will remain unaffected during the work.

Speaking to Shafaq News, Mustafa Marati, Director of Public Relations at Syria’s General Oil Administration, described the initiative as a “major engineering achievement” to upgrade the refinery’s infrastructure after decades of heavy use.

“The project includes replacing four main reactors (R1, R2, R3, R4) in the upgrading unit while refurbishing the internal components of the first and second reactors,” he explained, stressing that the overhaul will maintain the supply of high-quality petroleum products for domestic demand and reduce reliance on imports.

He added that the modernization will also replace furnace shells in the upgrading unit, describing the project as “among the largest in the refinery’s history.”

Earlier, Marati noted that Baghdad and Damascus are working to revive the Kirkuk–Baniyas oil pipeline, a long-idle route linking Iraq’s fields to the Mediterranean.

Constructed in 1952, the Kirkuk–Baniyas line is one of the Middle East’s oldest oil export routes. Stretching 800 kilometers and capable of pumping up to 300,000 barrels per day, it has been repeatedly shut down over the decades due to political and security turmoil.

Read more: Kirkuk–Baniyas Pipeline: Iraq’s direct oil lifeline to the Mediterranean