Ammon News - Syria exported 600,000 barrels of heavy crude oil on Monday from the port of Tartus as part of a deal with a trading firm, a Syrian energy official told Reuters, the first known official export of Syrian oil in 14 years.

Syria exported 380,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2010, a year before protests against Bashar al-Assad's rule spiralled into a nearly 14-year war that devastated the country's economy and infrastructure - including crude production.

Assad was toppled in December last year and the led government that replaced him pledged to revive Syria's economy.

Riyad al-Joubasi, assistant director for oil and gas at Syria's energy ministry, told Reuters the heavy crude oil had been sold to B Serve Energy.

Syria's energy ministry said in a written statement the oil was exported on the Nissos Christiana tanker.

Joubasi said it had been extracted from several Syrian fields but did not say which ones.

Reuters