Posted on 10/23/2017 1:04:50 PM PDT by drewh
US-backed Syrian Kurdish militias reported Sunday, Oct. 22, the capture of Syria’s biggest oil field of al-Omar in the eastern Deir Ez-Zour province.
They were pressing on with their offensive against the Islamic State after capturing Raqqa. Al-Omar is located on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. The Kurds’ takeover pre-empted its grab by a mixed force of Russian-backed Syrian army contingents and Hizballah, which had halted 6 km short of al-Omar.
While in the hands of ISIS, this field pumped up to 10,000 barrels today and is capable of producing up to 40,000 bpd. If repaired and brought up to scratch, it could potentially yield up to 120,000 bpd.
It now turns out that the Russian command’s secret order to the Syrian/Hizballah forces, to halt where they stood after capturing Mayadin in eastern Syria from ISIS – and not advance on the oil field – was prompted by unpublished talks between US and Russian officers in the area.
The officers reached a deal on the disposition of these oil fields. Under that deal, it was decided to award the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia the richest Syrian field as a prize for its role in leading the SDF in the capture of ISIS’ de facto capital of Raqqa..
Sources add that Washington felt that the Kurds also deserved to be compensated for their Iraqi brothers’ loss of the Kirkuk oil city, which was seized last week by an Iraqi force boosted by pro-Iranian Shiite militias. The loss of Kirkuk to Baghdad and Tehran has deprived the Kurdish Regional Government of Iraq of the income from 600,000 barrels of oil a day. The al-Omar field produces a much smaller amount, but its revenue would save the KRG from economic meltdown.
Sources in Damascus, disgruntled over the handover of al-Omar to the Kurds, accused the Syrian Arab tribes who fought in Raqqa of backing the Kurdish militia’s claim to the oil field. They also suggested that ISIS opted to surrender the oil field to the Sunni Kurds, rather than letting it fall into the hands of Assad’s Alawi regime.
Russia’s consent to hand over Syria’s biggest oil field to pro-American Kurds was calculated to yield a quid pro quo in the form of Washington’s support for the Russian oil giant Rosneft taking control of the Kurdish oil pipeline from the KRG via Turkey to the Mediterranean.
Last Thursday, the state-controlled Rosneft reported a deal with the KRG to take majority control of 60 percent in the operation of this pipeline project.
I don’t buy their speculation, that this was compensation for the loss of the Kirkuk fields. Debka has a pretty bad reputation on Free Republic for unfounded speculation reported as insider info.
The Kurds in Iraq (KRG) are not going to see a penny from the Syrian al Omar oil fields. Those Kurdish groups are political opponents of each other. It is a big advantage for the Syrian Kurds though.
The al Omar fields are the biggest in Syria, but small change compared to Iraq. Al Omar is less than one percent of the output of the Kirkuk fields, that were just captured from the KRG.
It is true that all that all the players are wheeling and dealing behind the scenes, but Debka doesn’t really have reliable sources. It is basically printing rumors kicking around in Israel that it likes. There is often good info getting rumored around in Israel, but a lot of speculation as well. Got to take Debka with a grain of salt, and get things confirmed.
Too hard to comprehend other than they’re all crazy.
Taking care of our allies.
“Got to take Debka with a grain of salt”
Yep, agree.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.