Syria's state-owned Oil Company said on Thursday that two pipelines carrying gas and oil products had been damaged in separate incidents, the latest in a series of disruptions to the country's energy infrastructure following repeated suspected sabotage attacks, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
An explosion struck the Jbessa gas pipeline in the southern countryside of Hasakah province late in the afternoon. Hours earlier, a pipeline carrying oil products from the coastal city of Baniyas to Homs was damaged, causing a fuel leak.
SANA quoted the company as saying the gas pipeline had been targeted in a "sabotage attack." Neither SANA nor the company named any suspects or claimed responsibility.
Repairs under way
Oday al-Satouf, head of the company's media office, told SANA that a puncture had been found on the Baniyas-Homs pipeline in the Hadida area, west of Homs. Technical teams isolated the affected section, secured the surrounding area and closed valves at both ends of the damaged segment. Repairs have begun, while other teams are monitoring the area to ensure safety. State media said the leak was believed to be linked to a fuel theft attempt.
Al-Satouf said gas would continue to reach power plants through alternative arrangements and that domestic gas supplies had not been affected, according to SANA.
A string of incidents
More than a week earlier, the company said an oil pipeline near Tal Hamis in the northeastern province of Hasakah had been damaged in a sabotage attack, and authorities arrested those responsible.
In late September, a fire broke out on a gas pipeline between al-Shoula and Deir Az Zor in the east, disrupting the flow of gas from the Jbessa plant to power stations, SANA reported. Hisham al-Saleh, a company official in charge of the gas sector, said gas pressure in the area dropped as emergency crews fought the blaze.
Syria is seeking to restore its energy infrastructure and raise domestic oil output, including resuming operations at oilfields in Hasakah to supply refineries in Homs and Baniyas. In January, the oil company announced plans to transport crude from newly restored fields to the two refineries as part of efforts to revive the energy sector.
