This week Syria’s Oil Minister Ali Ghanem announced that parliament has granted Iran an exploration and production agreement for ‘Block 12’ in the Albu Kamal region of southeast Syria bordering Iraq – an award that was supposedly signed (but not announced) earlier this year.

Interestingly, the deal was signed between the Syrian and Iranian governments themselves rather than between state oil firms – an indication that it may be motivated more by politics than commerciality. (CONTINUED - 365 WORDS)