DAMASCUS/ISTANBUL 

The first oil tanker since the ouster of Syria’s Assad regime arrived Thursday evening at Baniyas terminal in Tartus governorate.

This was reported by the official Syrian News Agency (SANA), quoting Tamer Akar, the director of Oil Facility Relations in Tartus.

Syria used to receive most of its oil supply, intended for electricity generation, from Iran, but supplies stopped following President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster last December.

In 2010, oil accounted for 20% of Syria's GDP, half of its exports and more than 50% of state revenues.

The country's oil production stood at 390,000 barrels per day but drastically declined, reaching only 40,000 barrels per day by 2023.

Akar said "the first oil tanker arrived at the oil terminal in the city of Baniyas after liberation," without specifying its origin.

The tanker, Aquatica, is carrying 100,000 metric tons of crude oil, he added.

The new Syrian administration seeks to secure oil shipments to address the ongoing energy crisis in the country.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period in late January.