The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added seven individuals and 10 entities to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, pursuant to Syria sanctions authorities.
These sanctions focus on individuals and entities that provide support to the Bashar al-Assad (Assad) regime’s oil production network.
Namely, OFAC designated Arfada Petroleum Private Joint Stock Company (Arfada) and Sallizar Shipping SAL (Sallizar), two companies based in Syria and Lebanon, respectively, that have entered into substantial contracts with the Government of Syria to develop the Syrian oil sector.
Arfada and Sallizar together hold an 85% ownership stake in two joint ventures with the Syrian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (Syrian Ministry of Petroleum) and the Public Establishment for Refining and Distribution (PERD) to establish two new oil refineries in Syria.
Arfada and Sallizar have further reached an agreement with the Syrian Ministry of Petroleum and PERD to develop and expand the Tartus oil terminal.
Arfada and Sallizar were designated pursuant to E.O. 13582, “Blocking Property of the Government of Syria and Prohibiting Certain Transactions With Respect to Syria,” for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, the Government of Syria.
Arfada and Sallizar were also designated today pursuant to the Caesar Act for knowingly providing significant financial, material, or technological support to, or knowingly engaging in significant transactions with the Government of Syria.