Why Makeshift Oil Refineries in Syria Are A Ticking Time Bomb | Risky Business | Insider News

Narrator: These rustic oil

refineries

in Syria are a

ticking

time

bomb

. The slightest mistake and they can explode, killing workers. Narrator: Thousands of these facilities sprang up in northern Syria after the civil war broke out in 2011. Now, millions of displaced people depend on them for fuel to run their cars,

business

es and homes, including Ahmed Abdalla, owner of some of the

refineries

. . Narrator: So what does it take to filter crude oil at these informal refineries in Syria, where children do much of the dirty work? And why is this black gold a blessing and a curse for the people here?

Ahmed and his family live in a small town called Tahrin, near the city of Al-Bab. It is controlled by opposition forces and became a safe haven for many refugees during the war. Today about 400,000 displaced people live here. Narrator: Satellite images of Tahrin from 2011 show orchards. Several years later, the land is black and arid and marked by refineries. Ahmed owns three of the roughly 650 facilities in this part of the city, and he and his brothers invested their life savings into the

business

when they started in 2012. Narrator: Crude oil is refined in these metal drums, or burners. 55 gallons.

Each of these can cost up to $50,000. Narrator: A charcoal oven heats the burners. The crude oil evaporates and flows into the pipes. These are submerged in water tanks so that the vapors condense and become diesel, kerosene or gasoline. Narrator: The heaviest part of the oil settles at the bottom of the drums. It is highly flammable and must be removed before reusing the drum for refining. This is what Ahmed calls briquettes and is used for cooking and heating. Some

time

s it is the teenagers who get into the drums to clean them, because they can happen. Ahmed doesn't want them near these dangerous tanks.

But he says many families devastated by war have no choice. Narrator: Even his own 16-year-old son helps clean the drums. Narrator: After a long morning, Ahmed takes a break with his workers. Today he is having tea with Mahmoud Abu Ibrahim, who almost died in 2018 when he exploded an oil drum. Narrator: His eyes were permanently damaged. Narrator: Like Ahmed, Mahmoud is also a refugee. Before the war, he was an electrical engineer. Narrator: He is exposed to plumes of smoke that release toxic chemicals that slowly poison the workers. Narrator: The smoke also covers plants and trees, killing them.

And oil spills have contaminated soil and drinking water. Narrator: These

makeshift

refineries began appearing between 2011 and 2012, when Syrians led a revolution against President Bashar al-Assad. At the time, Ahmed was a paralegal in his hometown of Al-Safira, which had become a battlefield. So in 2012 he fled with his family and finally settled in Tahrin. Narrator: But the worst was yet to come. In 2014, ISIS came to power and eventually took over the country's official infrastructure, says Wim Zwijnenburg, a researcher who has been following the Syrian war. Wim: ISIS made a lot of money selling oil to smugglers. So to prevent that, the US-led coalition started

bomb

ing some of these places to target wellheads and pumping stations to prevent ISIS from extracting oil.

Narrator: Syrian democratic forces and coalition troops defeated ISIS in 2019. But in the past 12 years, the war has claimed more than 300,000 civilian lives. Today, Syria is informally divided into several regions. Assad's forces control most of it. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces control the oil-rich northeast. And Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces control other parts of the north, including Al-Bab. That's why tankers regularly deliver tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil from Kurdish-controlled areas to Al-Bab, where locals distill it. Thousands of people here work in the industry. Wim: Therefore, taking away the industry's livelihood and income from families in this area would not be beneficial to any post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.

Narrator: Ahmed's house, just a mile away, runs on the same fuel. These generators that pump well water use diesel. Narrator: But what fuels the lives of Ahmed and so many others is destructive in more ways than one. And that's where the White Helmets come in. They are a humanitarian group of first responders from all over Syria. Hasan Mohamed is one of the approximately 3,000 volunteers. They were especially active at the height of the war in 2014. Narrator: They rushed to the scene of at least 550 oil refinery explosions. Hasan says sometimes they are the result of recklessness in the refining process, but other times, the Syrian government has attacked these refineries.

Narrator: Despite the risks, this is a lucrative business in an area with few opportunities. Narrator: In total, its three refineries produce almost 1,000 barrels of fuel a day. Narrator: Ahmed buys crude oil for $70 a barrel and sells refined fuel for $100. He earns enough to comfortably support his family. But even basic goods like groceries are expensive in the war-torn country, and around 60% of the population is struggling with food insecurity. Narrator: In his free time, Ahmed and his children take care of their Arabian horses. He owns 12 of them. His favorite is called Shahab, which means shooting star. He frequently participates in horse racing competitions.

The hobby is a vestige of his old life that he hopes to return to one day.