Syria has began to deliver oil to China through the mediation of Iran. Sale of oil will bring Syria a profit of 84 million dollars in the near future.
Syria has traded with China’s state oil company, Zhuhai Zhenrong from January 2012. Zhuhai Zhenrong denied to respond this information. In January, the U.S. State Department said that the Chinese company is one of the largest suppliers of petroleum products to Iran.
Damascus planed to sell oil to China directly, but could not find a suitable vessel, then Iran took over the transportation issues. Iran is the main ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Middle East. For every barrel of oil Zhuhai Zhenrong pays 100 dollars.
The Syrian oil embargo was imposed in December 2011. The sanctions on the regime of Bashar Assad were imposed by European Union, the Arab League and the United States. Prior to that, the main consumers of the Syrian oil were European countries. Sale of hydrocarbons is the main revenue of Syrian budget, the loss of Damascus from sanctions is estimated at two billion dollars in January.
According to the UN, about eight thousand people were killed during the armed clashes and street battles in Syria in recent months. The confrontation between Syrian President Bashar Assad and the opposition has continued since March 2011.