Syria: Croatia, oil group INA suspends activity

The Croatian oil company INA, part of the Hungarian group MOL, has announced that it is suspending all oil and gas extraction activities in Syria, in respect of the economic sanctions imposed upon Syria by the European Union, which were adhered to last week by Croatia.

INA announced its decision to its Syrian counterpart, the General Petroleum Company (GPC) a few days ago, citing a "complete temporary suspension of economic activities for unavoidable reasons in which the Croatian company cannot interfere".

The company, however, reserves the right to reactivate its concessions for oil and gas extraction in Syria, once "the obstacles from above have been overcome".

Experts say that the sanctions will have a negative effect on the INA, as most of the 264 million euros in profit recorded by the company last year was derived from its activity in Syria.