Militias Control Home-Made Oil Refineries

“The Al Nusra militants control the Hasakah refineries and they sell crude oil to locals,” al-Shammari says. “The militants themselves determine what prices they will sell the oil at and the prices range from between US$8 to US$11 per barrel depending on who is guarding the fields and selling the oil. That’s why we always try to stay on friendly terms with them - to get the lowest prices,” he remarked.

Once back home al-Shammari is joined by his brother, who recently brought a water tank made of galvanized steel that has thicker walls than usual. The brothers connect the water tuck with a pipe around 15 centimetres in diameter that’s partially buried in the dirt. The other half of the pipe is covered in water to cool it. The same set-up is duplicated all over the two provinces.

A chemistry teacher at one of the local schools is happy to explain how the amateur refineries work.

“A fire is set underneath the tanks,” teacher Mahmoud Mulhem notes. “The heat leads to a chemical reaction. When the crude oil’s temperature reaches a certain level, the different parts of the crude separate. The compounds with a high boiling point stay at the bottom of the tank and those with a lower boiling point rise to the top – these are then removed,” he concludes.

Various types of fuel come out of the tank: first is petrol, then kerosene and then diesel.

The fuel that families like the al-Shammaris produce is sold for around double the price that fuel used to be sold for in this area, before the Syrian conflict started. Heating fuel – kerosene – sells for up to SYP100 (US$75 cents) per litter, gasoline costs around SYP150 (US$1.12) and diesel reaches around SYP50 (US$0.32).

However many drivers don’t complain about the prices as much as they complain about the quality of the fuel they are buying. “It’s very bad quality," says Samir Emar, who has to clean his car’s petrol filter more often now. “It has actually damaged a lot of the cars around here. Although the diesel is fine, you can use that and it doesn’t do so much damage.”

Teacher Mulhem says that usually fuels are treated to rid them of impurities but in these primitive refineries that’s not possible. “The oil makers can only differentiate between their different products by smell,” he notes.

The other big problem with the home-made refineries is the environmental damage they do. One woman tells NIQASH that she now wears a large black veil all the time to prevent what she calls the “black poison” from entering her lungs. She advises her children to do the same but, she says, she can’t stop the smoke from entering her house.

Protests like this from locals saw the Al Nusra Front, who are in charge of security in the area, ban oil refining at night, from 5pm until 7am; the ban came into effect about a month ago.