Russia Ramps Up Energy Supplies to Syria's Baniyas Port

Russia is significantly increasing its energy supplies to Syria, strengthening the energy cooperation between the two countries. According to Reuters, Moscow plans to deliver about 750,000 barrels of a blend of energy carriers to the Syrian port of Baniyas. This refers to a mix of ARCO, a type of Arctic heavy crude oil, and gas condensate (a type of light oil).

The agreement was reached at a meeting in Moscow this month, where bilateral energy ties were discussed.

According to services that track ship movements, a tanker named "Antarctica," capable of carrying up to 800,000 barrels of oil, is already anchored near the port of Baniyas. The vessel was loaded in areas adjacent to the Russian ports of Murmansk and Ust-Luga.

Two traders told Reuters that the ship was loaded with ARCO crude produced by the Russian company "Gazprom Neft" and condensate from the gas producer "Novatek." It is worth noting that ARCO is a heavy oil extracted from the "Prirazlomnaya" offshore platform.

This is not the first case of energy supply from Russia to Syria this year. Earlier, Russia had already sent several batches of Arctic oil to Syria, as well as supplied diesel fuel.