Syria's largest oil-field in need of repair after government takeover

Описание: (22 Jan 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Deir el-Zour, Syria - 22 January 2026
1. Various drone shots of al-Omar oil field ++ MUTE ++
2. Close of man as he drives away in his car
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Abdullah Qudeihan, al-Omar oil field contractor:
“Al-Omar oil field is the largest oil field in Syria, it contains around 880 petroleum wells. Currently the Syrian government hasn’t started production because some of the wells are unusable and need to be fixed.”
4. Various of al-Omar oil field
5. Various drone shots of al-Omar oil field ++ MUTE ++
6. Various of government security forces guarding the oil field
STORYLINE:
After government forces took back the eastern provinces of Deir el-Zour and Raqqa from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, many Syrians displaced from the area are celebrating and trying to return home.

Though the fighting has largely stopped, life is still nowhere near normal and it will take the authorities some time to rebuild cities and towns in the provinces after over a decade of civil war and following days-long clashes.

The provinces are home to Syria’s largest oil and gas fields, which the government hopes to use to fix the country’s electricity problem, create jobs, and play a big part in recovering the economy where millions of Syrians live in poverty.

But the infrastructure is badly damaged as the provinces went through some of the fiercest fighting in the war with the extremist Islamic State group that controlled the area for years, and the Syrian government is still cash-strapped and trying to secure investments.

“Al-Omar oil field is the largest oil field in Syria, it contains around 880 petroleum wells” says Abdullah Qudeihan, an al-Omar oil field contractor. “Currently the Syrian government hasn’t started production because some of the wells are unusable and need to be fixed.”

The Syrian government will also be busy making the towns and villages in the area livable again with much of its infrastructure badly damaged or needing some sort of repair.

Hundreds of vehicles stretched across the only bridge into Deir el-Zour province as the other passages were damaged in the war.

This has raised concerns for residents hoping that the government will help intervene as quickly as possible.

Video shot by: Ghaith Alsayed

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