LONDON - Chinese state-controlled Sinochem and UK-listed explorer Gulfsands Petroleum have shut down their oil operations in Syria following European Union sanctions related to the crackdown on the uprising against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, Gulfsands said.
Although China has resisted sanctions on Syria, Sinochem is bound by EU sanctions since it bought its interest in the Syrian fields by taking over UK-listed Emerald Energy, through which it still owns the assets, a Gulfsands spokesman said on Monday.Syrian state-controlled General Petroleum Corporation (GPC) will continue to produce oil from the fields, in exploration block 26, the company said in a statement.
