Oil workers good luck

The unit that fell under American aviation in Syria was not solving a state, but a private problem.

For the sake of what was the purpose of the fighters of the PMC Wagner sent to a deliberately disastrous battle? Who or what they had to protect in territories that have long been purified from terrorists, but rich in oil and gas? This bright goal is money. And it’s not that very large: a quarter of income with a very mediocre Gas Konoko deposit by Russian standards.

For the first time, Russian officials admitted that on the night of February 7 to 8, our fellow citizens died in Syria, only a week later, on the 15th. And even then with a reservation: these unknown people had nothing to do with the army, and there were only five people.

Today it is known that in the evening of February 7, in the province of Deir-Ez-Zor from the territories occupied by the Syrian Arab Army (government), a group of people attacked the positions of the democratic forces of Syria (SDF)-their Kurdish formation. Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigan, head of the central command of the Coalition Air Force, at a briefing in the Pentagon, said that the United States was obliged to react to this “unprovided agreed attack” as the Kurdish allies. The Russian side was warned. As the Novye already wrote, the Russian command could not but be aware of the scale of the answer. He had time and had the opportunity to cancel this attack and prevent consequences. What did Russia do in response to a warning? In fact, she shrugged: we don’t know who these people do, do what you want.

Washington Post transmits the words of Kurdish General Hassan: having received intelligence about a possible attack, he contacted the Russian side and asked what she was starting. A certain “contact face” told him: we have no ground forces in Syria. Well, no, no. Half an hour later, some ground troops nevertheless attacked the Kurds-and the American Air Force sincerely hit those who were not. Now the “contact face” itself called General Hassan: he asked for a truce to pick up the wounded and killed from the field. The general ironized: how to pick it up from the field if you are not there?

For those whom the Russian “contact face” crossed out of life half an hour ago, this attack turned into a real hell. How many people died in this meat grinder is unknown. Different sources call different numbers, but more and more converge on two hundred killed and hundreds of the wounded.

It may well be that the Ministry of Defense really did not really worry what would happen to all these people who were clearly not for their homeland. Formally, such a structure as Wagner PMC does not exist. Hiring up for money for money first in the Donbass, and then in Syria, the Freedoms of the PMC concluded labor contracts with other legal entities. All these structures, according to the Fontanka.ru publication, are not so much connected with the Ministry of Defense (although the howitzers and tanks are still issued to them in some military commander), but with the “Kremlin cook” Evgeny Prigozhin. The Euro Polis company, according to Fontanka, controlled in 2017, signed a memorandum with the Syrian government: it undertakes to free the ISIS ( terrorist organization banned in Russia . - Ed. ) Oil and gas fields in Syria, transfer them to the Bashar Assad and then protect. For this, the owner of the Euro policy must receive 25% of income from each conquered deposit.

On the attack on February 7, the PMC fighters were sent just for such a deposit. And it was not necessary to free him from ISIS.

Running

Before the Syrian province of Deir Ez-Riz, all world fighters with terrorism-that the coalition under the leadership of the United States, that Russia with its allies-hands reached in the summer of 2017. And between these forces of good, a competition began in which the winner was supposed to receive a jackpot: oil and gas fields that previously fed all Syria.

The province of Deir ez-zor is divided into two parts (conditionally western and eastern) river Euphrates. The main share of oil and gas fields is located in the desert in the left and east coast. Until last fall, they were all in the hands of ISIS. Oil and gas from these deposits gave terrorists the lion's share of their income. With only Al Tanak, Igilovites received up to 17 thousand barrels of oil per day, and with Al Omar up to 13 thousand. They sold oil for $ 20–45 per barrel at world prices to a hundred. In March 2015, the American special forces eliminated the “chief oil industry” ISIS Abu Saiyaf and seized his documentation. And then it turned out: producing hydrocarbons with artisanal methods and with huge costs, selling them two to three times cheaper than in the world market, ISISTOVED in six months received an income of $ 289.5 million.

The area of clashes on the night of February 7 to 8 // Alexey Komarov, "New Gazeta" (according to Militarymaps.info)

The Kurds “cleaned” Deir ez-zor from the north-west. Therefore, on the left bank of the Euphrates were the first. They got a dozen rich oil and gas fields and factories.

The Prosadov forces moved from the southwest. Actually, the Syrians are fighting little in them, allies do it for them. In particular, Wagner's PMC, in which, or rather the owner of the company, has its own interest. We add in brackets that they went to Deir ez-Zero from Palmyra, which in 2016 was released twice, and there are not only the famous ruins, but also gas hubs and an oil pumping station.

But then the Euphrates of the Prosadov forces did not pass. In these gold -bearing places they managed to free and take only three small deposits: Al Harat, Al Shula and Al Taim. Igilovites squeezed from them from 600 to 1000 barrels per day. It is clear that a quarter of income from this is the cat noded. It’s especially disappointing when you know that in two hundred meters, beyond the river, is Klondike, but he is a stranger.

Agreed

At the end of September, the Kurds, moving to the Euphrates, replaced ISIS from the next deposit - Tabia. These are gas fields, from which, before the war, against the background of the booty, the Syrians received two million cubic meters daily. And the potential of the field is 13 million cubic meters of gas per day. Its other name is Konoko: it was opened and in the early 2000s was operated by the American company Conocophillips. She also built a modern gas processing plant nearby.

Under the control of Konoko, Konoko was on September 23. The next day, the Prisadov forces tried to recapture him. The Syrian opposition did not hide that it was shocked by such a treachery. In the air raids to which its units were subjected to, she accused Russia: they say, while she, the opposition, was beating with terrorists, “Russian combat aircraft fired at the fighters of the Syrian democratic forces ... at a large gas field, conquered on the eve of the militants,” wrote The Washington Post. Apparently, aviation acted because ground forces, that is, as we now know almost certainly, the Wagnerians were far away.

We can conclude that the Ministry of Defense with understanding referred to the tasks for which the Fighters of the PMC went to Deir ez-Zor. The field could not be captured then, and Russia, in response to reproaches, accused the United States of "two -faced politics" - and that’s all.

Meanwhile, the Russian military built a two -hundred -meter pontoon bridge through the Euphrates. They explained as follows: along it to the eastern shore will be transferred by soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army, armored vehicles and goods. Why transfer government troops to the opposition camp - they apparently knew. The bridge was excellent, promised that 8 thousand armored vehicles per day would be able to pass through it. The Syrian government reported that since its construction, the humanitarian situation on the left bank of the Euphrates has greatly improved. Probably meant that with the help of a bridge for armored vehicles the Syrian government of the Kurds fed.

Then there were probably some negotiations between the Russian side and the opposition. Because on October 19, the Beirut newspaper Almasdar News suddenly reported that the Kurds agreed to transfer to Russia “Konoko’s gas field and the headquarters of Deir Ez-Zor Province in the east”. And that there, at Konoko, they have already arrived at the invitation of the Kurds “Russian ground forces”. And Russia, as we recall, do not have such troops in Syria. Who actually came to visit gas fields - you can only guess. Say, the Kremlin Cook Prigogine a couple of times, risking, one might say, life, flew into these troubled edges. But the process of transferring the field dragged on, and then, in October, the matter did not go beyond a friendly visit.

Conoco refinery before the start of the war in Syria

In early January, the bridge suddenly collapsed. The water level in Euphrates rose sharply - and he was simply washed away. The newspaper of the Ministry of Defense "Red Star" accused the Americans of deliberately staged a flood to break our bridge. “A sharp change in the water situation occurred due to the deliberate opening of the gateways on the damage of the hydroelectric power station, which is on the territory of opposition formations controlled by the“ international coalition ”, led by the United States,” the publication said. The Americans denied everything.

On January 20, Türkiye began operation “olive branch” against the Syrian Kurds in the area of their city Afrin. The Kurds counted on the support of Russia. But Russia set the condition: voluntarily transfer the Kurdish enclave to the control of the President of Assad, and then Ankara will abandon his plans. Kurds did not even want to discuss it. Nine days later, the Congress of the Syrian Nationalalog began in Sochi, and there were no Kurds among the opposition forces that came to him. They themselves said that Moscow did not invite them. In general, it became clear that the relationship was completely spoiled. So, to the same “ground forces” that they went to visit Konoko, should not be seen.

And on February 7, the "ground troops" decided to take what they promised and did not give them. The Ministry of Defense, we repeat, could not not know what would happen next. But for some reason, it could not or did not want to prevent it.