Hazardous Legacies: An Open-Source Overview of the Destruction of Deir ez-Zor’s Oil Industry

Oct 20, 2017 | Wim Zwijnenburg
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Now that the so-called Islamic State (IS) is rapidly losing terrain in eastern Syria, a race is underway to capture the oil-rich Deir ez-Zor governorate. The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and militias loyal to the Syrian government, under cover of the Russian airstrikes, rush towards the fields east of the Euphrates River; but so does a contingent of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the United States-led Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR).

In the months and years before, air campaigns waged by both the Russian Air Force and CJTF-OIR have heavily targeted the same oil infrastructure their allies are now racing for. At the same time, scorched-earth tactics by the Islamic State accumulated the piles of pollution. These actions have left an environmental toxic footprint that is already posing health risks to local communities.

In this article, Wim Zwijnenburg and Christiaan Triebert explore the key development related to the key oil fields in Syria’s east by using open source information such as satellite imagery and local media reports. This analysed information suggests that there will be long-term consequences for social-economic reconstruction of the region, which has already become a power play between tribes, armed groups, and State actors. One question, however, remains: Who will deal with the environmental pollution and subsequent human health risks for affected communities in the aftermath of the conflict? Probably few, if any.