A field tour led by the head of the Central Authority for Oversight and Inspection, engineer Amer al-Ali, uncovered major violations in the oil fields of Deir ez-Zor, following three months of investigations involving 22 inspectors and carried out in coordination with the provincial governor and the minister of energy.
The inspection revealed failures in the production, transport and measurement of oil, along with violations in maintenance and contracts, with damage to public funds initially estimated at more than 8 million dollars. The investigations also recorded additional losses of about 20 million dollars caused by price differences in crude oil transport contracts between the central region administration and the transport companies.
As a result, the authority decided to suspend nine officials and refer them to the judiciary, most notably the director of the Deir ez-Zor fields and the director of oil transport and distribution in the central region, along with officials at the al-Omar, al-Tayyem and al-Tanak fields.
The measures also included terminating the contracts of some contracted companies for failing to meet their obligations, and recommending the precautionary seizure of the assets of those involved, while investigations into other files continue.
The authority stressed that the violations concern specific individuals and do not reflect the performance of the oil sector as a whole, emphasising that its efforts to protect public funds in this strategic sector are continuing.
