Iraq: ISIS Grabs Oil and Gas Fields in Syria and Iraq, but Challenges Remain

Jul 26, 2014 | Mazin Sidahmed, The Daily Star
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BEIRUT: As militants from ISIS establish themselves as the dominant force in the fight for oil and gas resources among rebel factions within Syria and Iraq, they are reaping windfall profits – and confronting a series of constraints on their newly gained wealth, experts say.

ISIS has consolidated control over several oil fields throughout Syria and Iraq, most notably the Al-Omar oil field in eastern Syria’s Deir al-Zor, seized from its rival the Nusra Front earlier this month.

Meanwhile in Iraq, reports indicate that ISIS has begun selling oil extracted from several small fields at a considerable profit. Officials from the Iraqi oil industry have mentioned profits of $1 million a day for ISIS from the group’s Iraq operations – outside of their control are much larger fields under the control of the central government in the south, and the Kurdish authorities in the north.