Two Syrian pipelines damaged amid spate of attacks on energy infrastructure

Fuel theft cited in Baniyas-Homs leak as gas export line in Hasakah catches fire.

Security forces of Syria's Interior Ministry guard the al-Omar oil field, the country's largest by area and production [File: Abdulmonam Eassa/Getty Images]

Two pipelines carrying gas and oil products were damaged in separate incidents in Syria, state media reported, the latest disruptions to the country’s energy infrastructure following a series of suspected sabotage attacks .

The state-owned Syrian Petroleum Company announced the damage on Thursday, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). The incidents add to a number of attacks on Syria’s oil and gas network in recent months, as the government tries to revive its energy sector.

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An explosion struck the Jbessa gas pipeline in southern Hasakah province in the late afternoon, hours after damage to a pipeline transporting oil products from the coastal city of Baniyas to Homs caused a fuel leak.

The company said the gas pipeline had been targeted in a “sabotage attack”, according to SANA.

Neither SANA nor the company named a suspect or group responsible for the attacks.

Oday al-Satouf, head of the company’s media office, told SANA that a hole was found in the Baniyas-Homs pipeline in the Hadida area, west of Homs. Crews isolated the affected stretch and secured the surrounding area, he said, closing valves on either side of the damaged section. Repairs have begun, while other teams monitor the area for safety. State media said the leak was believed to be linked to an attempted fuel theft.

Al-Satouf said gas would continue to reach power stations through alternative arrangements, and that domestic gas supplies were unaffected, according to SANA.

A man fills a container with petroleum for heating at home in Suwayda, Syria [File: Elke Scholiers/Getty Images]

A string of incidents

More than a week ago, the company said an oil pipeline near Tal Hamis in the northeastern province of Hasakah was damaged in a sabotage attack. It added that authorities had arrested those responsible.

In late September, a fire broke out on a gas pipeline between al-Shoula and Deir Az Zor in the east, halting gas flows from the Jbessa plant to power stations, SANA reported. Hisham al-Saleh, a gas sector official at the company, said gas pressure in the area fell as crews worked to extinguish the blaze.

Syria has been working to restore its energy infrastructure and increase domestic oil production. That includes resuming operations at oil fields in Hasakah to supply refineries in Homs and Baniyas. In January, the petroleum company announced plans to transport crude from recently recovered fields to the two refineries as part of efforts to revive the sector.

哈塞克天然气出口管道起火，巴尼亚斯-霍姆斯天然气泄漏事件系燃油盗窃所致。

叙利亚内政部安全部队守卫着奥马尔油田，该油田是叙利亚面积和产量最大的油田。[图片：Abdulmonam Eassa/Getty Images]

据叙利亚国家媒体报道，该国两条输送天然气和石油产品的管道在两起独立事件中遭到破坏，这是继一系列疑似破坏袭击之后，该国能源基础设施遭受的最新破坏。

据叙利亚阿拉伯通讯社（SANA）报道，叙利亚国家石油公司周四宣布了此次损失。近几个月来，叙利亚的石油和天然气网络屡遭袭击，此次事件加剧了这一局面，而叙利亚政府正试图重振其能源部门。

叙利亚政府面临新旧威胁，动荡局势持续发酵（列表 1/2）

叙利亚发生输油管道爆炸，导致3座发电厂停运，枪手在公交车上杀害7人。（列表2/2）

今天下午晚些时候，位于南部哈塞克省的杰贝萨天然气管道发生爆炸。几个小时前，从沿海城市巴尼亚斯向霍姆斯输送石油产品的管道受损，导致燃料泄漏。

据叙利亚通讯社（SANA）报道，该公司称该天然气管道遭到“破坏袭击”。

叙利亚电信公司和该公司均未指明对此次袭击负责的嫌疑人或组织。

该公司媒体办公室负责人奥代·萨图夫告诉叙利亚通讯社（SANA），在霍姆斯以西的哈迪达地区，巴尼亚斯-霍姆斯输油管道上发现了一个破损点。他说，工作人员已隔离了受影响的管段，并封锁了周边区域，关闭了受损管段两侧的阀门。目前维修工作已经开始，其他小组正在现场监测安全状况。国家媒体报道称，此次泄漏据信与一起未遂的燃油盗窃案有关。

据叙利亚通讯社报道，萨图夫表示，天然气将继续通过其他方式输送到发电站，国内天然气供应不受影响。

在叙利亚苏韦达，一名男子正在家中往容器里装石油用于取暖。[图片：Elke Scholiers/Getty Images]

一系列事件

一周多前，该公司表示，位于东北部哈塞克省塔尔哈米斯附近的一条输油管道遭到破坏袭击。该公司还表示，当局已逮捕了肇事者。

据叙利亚通讯社（SANA）报道，9月下旬，东部舒拉和代尔祖尔之间的一条天然气管道发生火灾，导致杰贝萨发电厂向发电站输送天然气中断。该公司天然气部门官员希沙姆·萨利赫表示，在工作人员扑灭大火期间，该地区的天然气压力有所下降。

叙利亚一直在努力恢复能源基础设施并提高国内石油产量。这包括恢复哈塞克油田的运营，以向霍姆斯和巴尼亚斯的炼油厂供应原油。今年1月，叙利亚石油公司宣布计划将近期开采的油田的原油输送至这两家炼油厂，以此作为振兴该行业举措的一部分。