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Letter from the Permanent Representative of Syria to the UN on the air strikes that destroyed oil and gas facilities


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United Nations
Security Council

S/2015/851

Distr.: General
16 November 2015
English
Original: Arabic

Identical letters dated 9 November 2015 from the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

On instructions from my Government, I should like to convey to you the following information.

Aircraft of the so-called international coalition led by the United States of America continue to violate the sovereignty of Syria under the pretext that they are targeting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist organization. Thus, on Saturday, 10 October 2015, aircraft belonging to that coalition bombed the Radwaniyah area east of Aleppo city, targeting two thermal power stations. The bombardment caused severe damage to those stations and took them out of service, cutting off electricity to the area. The losses sustained amount to €1.2 billion.

The bombardment by coalition aircraft of the power stations east of Aleppo city and other infrastructure in various parts of Syria is a heinous act of aggression and a continuation of the air strikes against the country's economic, industrial and service infrastructure. Those attacks are aimed at destroying the capacities of the Syrian people and preventing development and reconstruction. They are also a continuation of the attacks that have been committed against many vital economic installations and have caused great economic and material losses. Following are just a few examples of those attacks:

  • On 12 September 2015, coalition aircraft attacked the facilities of the Jabisah oil fields administration.
  • On 25 September 2015, coalition aircraft attacked Tabiyah oil well No. 202, Dayr al-Zawr governorate, setting it on fire and causing significant damage to surface pipes.
  • On 25 September 2015, coalition aircraft attacked Tabiyah oil well No. 301, Dayr al-Zawr governorate, destroying the well.
  • On 5 October 2015, coalition aircraft again attacked the two above-mentioned wells in Dayr al-Zawr governorate, dislodging the top end of the well's Christmas tree and destroying the annulus valves and all well head pipes and valves at both locations.
  • In the evening of Friday, 13 October 2015, coalition aircraft bombed Sayjan well No. 146 of the Furat Petroleum Company, setting it on fire.
  • At dawn on Saturday, 31 October 2015, coalition aircraft bombed the facilities of the Furat Petroleum Company in the Amri field. The aircraft targeted the oil gathering centre and tank No. 319, which has a capacity of 75,000 barrels, setting the entire tank on fire. The aircraft also targeted the air compressors and relay pumps, destroying them completely. Fragments hurled by the explosion struck the electrical power plant and took it out of service, cutting off electrical power to Dayr al-Zawr natural gas plant.
  • Coalition aircraft bombed Qirmid factory, Raqqah governorate, completely destroying the factory's machinery and buildings.

I should also like to point out that those recent, repeated attacks by aircraft of the so-called coalition against oil and natural gas well heads in the Syrian Arab Republic and against oil and gas facilities, particularly in Dayr al-Zawr governorate, are in no way aimed at countering the theft of oil and gas by armed terrorist gangs and groups. Had that been the aim, then those aircraft should have attacked the convoys laden with purloined Syrian oil and gas operated by the thieving terrorist gangs before they had reached the Syrian-Turkish border and entered into Turkish territory, where the gas and oil is sold at the lowest prices. It can therefore logically be concluded that the fundamental aim of those repeated bombings is simply to damage severely and in a direct manner, or indeed to destroy, the infrastructure of the country's various economic sectors, including the oil and gas sectors, thereby hampering early recovery and reconstruction efforts in Syria.

The bombardment by aircraft of the so-called coalition of oil and gas facilities causes environmental pollution and could lead to even greater environmental disasters because of fires at oil and gas wells. Those fires could be difficult to control in view of the currently available capacities and owing to the lack of firefighting equipment, tools and materials caused by the unilateral coercive economic measures imposed on the Syrian Arab Republic by certain States, which are prohibiting the export of such equipment and materials to Syria and the opening of lines of credit.

You will find herewith a list of the targets and economic, oil and gas facilities that were attacked by aircraft of the so-called coalition from the start of 2015 to 22 October 2015, along with a preliminary estimate of the total losses (see annex).

The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic reiterates its stated position that the air raids conducted by the United States of America and its alliance inside the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic are illegal. Those raids are taking place without the prior approval of and in the absence of coordination with the Syrian Government, in violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. The Government calls for the cessation of these American Western operations against the infrastructure of Syria and stresses that they will not contribute anything to the war against ISIL.

I should be grateful if the present letter and its annex could be issued as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Bashar Ja'afari
Ambassador
Permanent Representative


Annex to the identical letters dated 9 November 2015 from the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

Company name Governorate Date Location Losses and damage sustained Casualties Estimated amount of loss
Syria Petroleum Company Hasakah 3 February 2015 Ghunah field An excavator and other nearby machinery were bombed in the Tishrin field.
Some sites in the Ghunah field.
Surface units were destroyed at horizontal wells Nos. 8, 10, 12 and 14, along with well heads, production pipelines and pump rods.
Amount of damages currently unavailable.
- 267 724
5 February 2015 Facilities of the Jabisah oil fields administration A concrete building for housing single persons was bombed and destroyed. - 669 311
A prefabricated building for storing electrical components was bombed and destroyed. 312 345
A building for storing chemicals was bombed and destroyed. 142 786
10 February 2015 Facilities of the Jabisah oil fields administration Six missiles destroyed the field administration building, the stock management and laboratory offices and the engineers' cafeteria, including all equipment, and their annexes.
The field's outside fence was damaged.
- 8 239 690
12 February 2015 Shadadi town and facilities of the Jabisah oil fields administration 15 missiles destroyed the technicians' and workers' cafeteria, the building of the cement and construction units and the drilling equipment storage facility, as well the following sites in Shadadi: the area of the hospital, the plant nursery, the 47 checkpoint, the Hamad turn-off, Hariri and the People's Army building. - 4 004 711
Dayr al-Zawr 15 February 2015 Tall Marmar station The following was destroyed: two 100 m3 tanks and their connectors; two 6 m3 separators and their connectors; the steel bases of 100 m3 tanks, along with the pipes that connect them to the station; and precision equipment inside the station. In addition, rooms, concrete platforms, walls and courtyards were damaged. - 808 130
Hasakah 17 April 2015 Jabisah fields The following were burned and destroyed as a result of the bombing of the water purification plant in Shadadi:
  • Three 500 kW power generators
  • Raw water storage tanks
  • Waste water pipes, walls and metal baths
  • Diesel storage tank and pipelines
  • Electrical panels and a transformer
- 433 465
25 May2015 Jabisah fields Bombing of the pressure reduction station resulted in the destruction of the following:
  • The entire building (two prefabricated rooms and concrete platforms)
  • Three 100 m3 oil tanks and associated pipes and valves
  • One 50 m3 water tanks and related equipment (pipes, ladders and valves), and one 10 m3 water tank and related equipment
  • Lighting poles, panels and electrical transformer
  • Fire suppression network, including ancillary equipment, motors and foam storage tanks, anti-corrosion device, cathodic protection diverter, suppression devices and protection and priming system
- 199 612
11 June 2015 Jabisah fields Three apartments - 128 342
18 June 2015 Jabisah fields The cultural centre and childcare centre in a 200-unit residential complex were destroyed. - 346 524
7 July 2015 Jabisah fields Four apartments of a 48-unit residential complex were bombed and completely destroyed. - 201 757
21 July 2015 Jabisah fields The guardhouse of a 200-unit residential complex was bombed and completely destroyed. Also hit were the Shadadi turn-off, the area near Allawi Salih school and the woods behind the 24-unit residential complex, where the water wells are located. - 63 049
23 August 2015 Jabisah fields The residential complex at Jabisah well No. 41 was completely destroyed. - 63 063
Dayr al-Zawr Petroleum Company Dayr al-Zawr 25 September 2015 Tabiyah field Tabiyah well No. 202 was burned and well No. 301 was severely damaged. - 550 000
5 October 2015 Tabiyah field Tabiyah well No. 202 was bombed; the well's Christmas tree, annulus valves and the lines connecting the tree to the flow pipe were damaged. - 350 000
Tabiyah well No. 301 was bombed; the well's Christmas tree and annulus valves were damaged. 300 000
Furat Petroleum Company Dayr al-Zawr 5 January 2015 Amri field Two strikes inside the field, the first 100 metres from the power plant and the second 200 metres away from the plant. The blast severed two wind turbines, leaving only one in service. - -
6 January 2015
31 January 2015 Amri field The loading point at which stolen oil is loaded, which is located 500 metres from the earthen berm surrounding the field, was bombed. Roofs and the windows of some buildings and offices were damaged. - 414 431
27 February 2015 Amri field Four rockets struck the area of the loading points; no information available regarding the damage sustained. - 296 800
6 March 2015 Tanak field Four rockets struck the loading point area, which is located 500 metres from the station's main entrance. A fire broke out and a tanker was burned. - 281 800
15 March 2015 Amri field Material damage in the workers' residential area. - 578 570
25 April 2015 Tanak field An air strike set ablaze one of the main 66 kV transformers and the area around it, cutting off electricity. - 3 000 000
16 May 2015 Amri field Four rockets struck the field's administration building, destroying it completely. The entrance to the field's residential complex and some buildings in that complex were bombed; this coincided with a paratrooper raid. The field's old vehicle garage was also bombed. - 236 500
8 June 2015 Amri field Bombing of six oil loading points resulted in material damage and destruction of the site. The amount includes the value of the destroyed pipes, connectors and valves, as well as the cost of repair and reinstallation, environmental remediation and rehabilitation of the 20,000 square metre site. - 1 052 700
10 June 2015 Tanak field Bombing of three wells resulted in the destruction of the well head hook-ups to the production pipelines. - 3 027 000
19 June 2015 Amri field The loading areas of wells SIJ 146, YIM 105 and JAZ 115 were bombed, resulting in the destruction of trailers at those sites. - 223 289
1 August 2015 Tanak and Ward fields The Tanak and Ward fields were bombed, as well as the main fields Albu Kamal bridge, the Suway'iah bridge, which is some five kilometres in the direction of Iraq, the Mayadin bridge and the Asharah bridge. - 1 379 016
16 September 2015 Amri field Coalition aircraft bombed the oil loading points in the Amri field. - 462 700
16 September 2015 Sayjan area Coalition aircraft bombed the Sayjan 146 area. - 130 630
13 October 2015 Sayjan Coalition aircraft bombed Sayjan well No. 146. - 9 309 254
Kawkab Petroleum Company Hasakah 9 January 2015 Kubaybah field An air strike resulted in the complete destruction of the eighth auxiliary station. - 18 856 000
Kubaybah horizontal wells Nos. 245, 246 and 250 were bombed. Three surface pumps and the well heads were damaged, but there were no fires. - 5 677 860
3 February 2015 Kubaybah field The surface units of horizontal well No. 220 were destroyed. Also, the bottom part of the well head was cut off. - 1 892 620
9 February 2015 Kubaybah field The surface units of Kubaybah horizontal wells Nos. 205 and 207 were destroyed, as well as well No. 70. The heads of those wells were damaged, but there was no leakage of oil. - 5 677 860
17 February 2015
18 February 2015
Kubaybah field Nine surface units belonging to Kubaybah horizontal wells Nos. 211, 215, 220, 217, 202, 288, 287, 134 and 285 were destroyed. The heads of those wells were damaged, but there was no leakage of oil. Four surface units belonging to Kubaybah horizontal wells Nos. 236, 234, 245 and 256 were destroyed, but no fires broke out at those wells. - 26 604 060
Kubaybah The surface unit of Kubaybah horizontal well No. 208 was destroyed. - 1 892 620
27 September 2015 Kubaybah field The surface unit of Kubaybah horizontal wells Nos. 245, 234 and 247 were destroyed. - 5 677 860
Awda Petroleum Company 23 January 2015 Jabisah, main terminal Two Chinese-made RG excavators belonging to Awda terminal Petroleum Company and a nearby oil tanker were bombed inside the station. The station was not damaged, except for some windows that were damaged by the explosion. - 54 200 000
3 February 2015 Tishrin field The storage facilities of a foreign contractor (Sinopec services company) located one kilometre from the Tishrin oil field buildings were bombed. One excavator was completely burned while another was severely damaged. Four steamrollers belonging to that company were also destroyed.
Syria Gas Company Hasakah 25 May 2015 Jabisah gas plant Bombardment resulted in the following:
  • The main factory entrance (guardhouse) was completely destroyed
  • A prefabricated building located opposite the factory administrative office was completely destroyed
  • Glass in the administrative building was broken
  • Fire broke out in the buildings next to the buildings that were hit. The fire brigade responded to the blaze and brought it under control
- 1 000 000

Note: All amounts are estimated and will be verified. We will provide you with the actual amounts once we are able to conduct a physical inspection.

Company Governorate Date of incident Description Location of incident Damages Estimated amount of damages (Syrian pounds) Notes
Dayr al-Zawr Petroleum Company Dayr al-Zawr 5 October 2015 Tabiyah well No. 202 was bombed by so-called coalition forces. Tabiyah well No. 202 The well's Christmas tree, annulus valves and the lines connecting the tree to the flow pipe were damaged. 350 000 A fax was sent to the competent department.
Dayr al-Zawr Petroleum Company Dayr al-Zawr 5 October 2015 Tabiyah well No. 301 was bombed by so-called coalition forces. Tabiyah well No. 301 The well's Christmas tree and annulus valves were damaged. 300 000 A fax was sent to the competent department.
Furat Petroleum Company Dayr al-Zawr 22 October 2015 So-called coalition forces bombed sites at the Amri oil field. Amri field Oil pumping units P-322 A, B, C, D and E and the main control room were completely destroyed; all equipment is buried under the debris. In addition, 12 offices were completely destroyed, as were the precision equipment and electrical shops. - A fax was sent to the national security office.


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