Shell Seeks Exit from al-Omar Oilfield, US Companies Show Interest

The head of the Syrian Petroleum Company, Youssef Qeblawi, said on Monday that oil major Shell had asked to withdraw from the al-Omar oilfield and transfer its share to Syria's state-owned operators but that U.S. companies were interested in the country's energy sector.

The al-Omar oilfield, Syria's largest, came under government control at the weekend after a lightning offensive against Kurdish forces who had held the site for nearly a decade and used it as a military base.

Qeblawi, speaking from al-Omar, said the field had operated as a joint venture between the Syrian Petroleum Company and Shell. The London-listed oil major had suspended all of its activities in Syria, including exploration and production activities, in December 2011 after the outbreak of Syria's war and European Union sanctions on Syria's oil sector.

Syria was still negotiating terms of a financial settlement with Shell so the field could be operated fully by state-owned Syrian companies "within a very short period", Qeblawi told reporters without specifying a timeline.

Shell did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Qeblawi also said that ConocoPhillips would return to invest in Syrian gas fields.

The Syrian Petroleum Company signed a memorandum of understanding with ConocoPhillips in