Official: Shell wants to exit Syria's al-Omar Oilfield, but US firms are interested in the sector.

Youssef qeblawi said that the head of Syria Petroleum Company Youssef qeblawi stated on Monday that Shell asked to withdraw its oil from the al-Omar field and transfer their?share to Syria’s state-owned operators, but that U.S. firms were interested in?the?country's energy sector.

Al-Omar, Syria's biggest oilfield, was taken over by the government at the weekend following a lightning-fast offensive against Kurdish troops who had occupied the site for almost a decade, and used it as an army base.

Qeblawi said, from al-Omar that the field was operated as a joint enterprise between the Syrian Oil?Company, and Shell. The London-listed oil giant suspended all its activities in Syria in December 2011, including exploration and production activities. This was after the outbreak in Syria's civil war and European Union sanctions against Syria's oil industry.

Qeblawi, a reporter at the time, said that Syria is still negotiating terms for a financial settlement to be reached with Shell. This will allow state-owned Syrian firms to operate the entire field "within a short period of time".

Shell didn't respond to a request for comment immediately.

Qeblawi stated that the field once produced 50,000 barrels of oil per day, but that Kurdish operators had used "primitive techniques" to produce only 5,000 barrels of oil per day. He said the field needs repairs and modernisation in order to be operational, without providing details about cost estimates.

ConocoPhillips will also invest in Syrian gasfields, he said. In November, the Syrian Petroleum Company and ConocoPhillips signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore for new gas fields as well as develop existing fields. Qeblawi?said that other American companies such as Chevron Energy and HKN Energy have expressed an interest.

ConocoPhillips did not respond to our requests for comments. Last month, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa had a meeting with Chevron representatives in Damascus.

Qeblawi stated that Chevron will be investing in offshore oil fields, and Syria will soon export both gas and oil. He said that Syria's oilfields are producing less than 100,000 barrels of oil a day. This is down from the 400,000 barrels produced before the beginning of the war. Qeblawi stated that while some fields in Hasakah, the province's most northeastern region, remained out of control on Monday despite being under Syrian government control.

He said, "It is only a matter time before we have everything - in all fields.

(source: Reuters)