{
  "id": 7338710,
  "title": "Syria Diesel Prices Jump 40% Triggering Widespread Unrest",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/syria-diesel-prices-jump-40-triggering-widespread-unrest",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-14T14:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "OilPrice",
    "slug": "oilprice",
    "url": "https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Syria-Diesel-Prices-Jump-40-Triggering-Widespread-Unrest.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Saturday, Syria increased diesel prices by 40% and gasoline prices by up to 28%, sparking widespread protests. Tensions escalated quickly as protesters blocked the highway connecting Damascus to Aleppo and set fire to tires along the road to Turkey. This unrest marked the most significant civil disobedience since Assad's fall in December 2024. Diesel now costs 175 Syrian pounds per liter, while household and industrial gas prices rose approximately 9%.\n\nProtests also erupted in Hama, Khan Sheikhoun, and Maarat al-Numan. Additionally, tanker convoys carrying crude destined for refineries were halted. The Energy Ministry attributed the price hike to \"temporary measures driven by higher global procurement costs,\" stated spokesperson Abdulhamid Salat.\n\nSyria's oil production stands at about 102,000 barrels per day, falling short of the domestic demand of roughly 325,000 barrels daily. To meet this demand, Syria imports around 60,000 barrels daily, primarily from Russia. However, Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries have reduced Russian crude output, tightening the supply reaching Syria just as domestic refining capacity has declined.\n\nThe Baniyas refinery, Syria's largest, underwent a three-month overhaul this month, restoring its capacity to 130,000 barrels per day, up from 80,000 barrels. The UN Development Programme estimates that 90% of Syrians now live below the poverty line, a stark increase from about a third before the 2011 civil war. The United States supports a $5.7-billion, 1,000-mile pipeline from Basra to Baniyas, led by Chevron, TotalEnergies, and Syrian and Qatari investors, aimed at reducing dependence on the Strait of Hormuz. Iraqi refineries have already transported around 5,000 tankers of crude to Baniyas daily under an interim arrangement initiated in April. Damascus has also reclaimed oil and gas fields in Deir ez-Zor and Hasakah from Kurdish-led forces this year, potentially alleviating Russia's remaining presence in Syria's energy sector. This development occurs as the Baniyas refinery upgrade compounds the near-term supply constraints.",
  "summary": "Syria raised diesel prices 40% and gasoline prices by as much as 28% on Saturday, and protesters blocked the highway linking Damascus to Aleppo and burned tires along the road to Turkey within 24 hours, the widest unrest since Bashar al-Assad's fall in December 2024. Diesel now costs 175 Syrian pounds a liter and household and industrial gas prices climbed roughly 9%. Protests also broke out in…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}