Baniyas Refinery | Credit: Syrian Arab News Agency (Sep 9, 2025)
The Baniyas refinery is Syria's largest petroleum refining facility, located north of Baniyas city in Tartus governorate on the Mediterranean coast. It is owned and operated by Baniyas Oil Company, which is now part of the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) holding structure established in October 2025.
Capacity and Configuration
The refinery has a nameplate crude distillation capacity of 120,000-130,000 barrels per day (bpd), though it currently operates at reduced capacity of approximately 95,000 bpd due to equipment degradation. The facility comprises four refining units: two configured to process light crude (originally designed for Euphrates Valley crude and Iraqi crude) and two configured to process heavy crude (originally designed for Syrian Suwayda/Sweidiyeh crude).
Processing Units
Key processing units include:
- Crude Distillation Unit: 130,000 bpd
- Vacuum Distillation: 60,000 bpd
- Hydrocracker: 25,000 bpd
- Reformer (upgrading unit): 17,000 bpd
- Hydrotreater: 15,000 bpd
The refinery produces gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, LPG, kerosene, bitumen, and sulfur for the domestic market. It also houses an integrated thermal power station running on fuel oil with an installed capacity of 30-48 MW.
History and Infrastructure
The refinery commenced operations in 1975 (some sources cite 1982 for full commercial operations), originally constructed by Romania's Industrial Import Export Company. It is connected via pipeline to oil fields in Deir ez-Zor and Al-Hasakah governorates in eastern Syria. The facility historically received crude via the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline from Iraq, which was commissioned in 1952 but is currently defunct.
Recent Developments
The refinery is undergoing its largest maintenance and modernization project in decades, scheduled to extend until 2026. The project includes replacing four main reactors (R1, R2, R3, R4) in the upgrading unit that date back to 1980, along with furnace shells and internal components. The reactor capacity is being increased from 100 to 120 cubic meters per hour. After the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the refinery was briefly offline when Iran suspended crude shipments, but operations resumed in 2025 after Russia provided alternative crude supplies and sanctions waivers were issued.
References
- Offshore Technology. Oct 27, 2021. Banias Refinery, Syria
- SUNIR Group. S.A. M. Baniyas Refinery Equipment Supply Project, Symbol of Sunir continued presence in the Syrian strategic market
- The Syria Report. Jul 27, 2024. Banias Refinery Company
- Wikipedia (Last edited: Oct 27, 2025). Baniyas Refinery
- eia (Last Updated: Jun 24, 2015). Country Review: Syria
- Global Energy Observatory. Banias (Baniyas) Refinery Thermal Power Plant (Last edited: Mar 22, 2011)
- Wikipedia. Kirkuk–Baniyas pipeline (Last edited: Nov 5, 2025)
- sana. Fedaa and Mazen. Oct 2, 2025. Presidential decree to establish Syrian Petroleum company (SPC)
- Tesaa World. K. Khaddour. Sep 7, 2025. Baniyas Refinery: Challenges of Modernization and Continuity of Production Amid Sanctions
- Shafaq News. Sep 14, 2025. Syria to launch major modernization of Baniyas oil refinery
- S&P Global. K. Norways and B. Fernandez-Pita. Jun 17, 2025. Syria’s Banias refinery exports first cargo since regime change
