He's up to his Jedi mind tricks again manipulating the left's thinking. Remember, "The force has a powerful influence on the weak minded".
Couldn't be the same ones the Israelis and some Iraqis said rolled out of Iraq in those trucks the satellites caught. . . nah, couldn't be. Syria just used all their oil wealth to build these from scratch. . . oh. . . wait. . . they haven't got any oil wealth.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/po...on_syrian_wmds
Originally Posted by Iaintliein
Syria doesnt have any oil wealth? Really?
$3.2 billion isnt considered wealth?
Gee, who knew?
Syrian oil exploration first began in 1933 during the
French Mandate and the first commercial discovery was in 1956.
[14] The industry took off in 1968, when Syria's first commercial oil field began production, although Syria did not begin exporting oil until the mid-1980s.
[15] Syria is a relatively small oil producer, accounting for just 0.5 percent of the global production in 2010.
[16][17] Although Syria is
not a major oil exporter by Middle Eastern standards, oil is a major pillar of the economy. According to the
International Monetary Fund, oil sales for 2010 were projected to generate $3.2 billion for the Syrian government and account for 25.1% of the state's revenue.
[18]
Syria is the only significant crude oil producing country in the
Eastern Mediterranean region, which includes
Jordan,
Lebanon,
Israel, the
West Bank, and
Gaza. According to the Oil and Gas Journal, Syria had 2,500,000,000 barrels (400,000,000 m
3) of petroleum reserves as of January 1, 2010.
[19] Syria's known oil reserves are mainly in the eastern part of the country in the
Deir ez-Zor Governorate near its border with
Iraq and along the
Euphrates River; a number of smaller fields are located in the center of the country.
[14] In 2010, Syria produced around 385,000 barrels (61,200 m
3) per day of crude oil.
[17][18] Oil production has stabilized after falling for a number of years, and is poised to turn around as new fields come on line. In 2008, Syria produced 187 billion cubic feet (5.3×10
9 m
3) of natural gas, and two years later in 2010, it increased production to 275×10^
9 cu ft (7.8×10
9 m
3).
[20] While much of its oil is exported to Europe, Syria's natural gas is used in reinjection for
enhanced oil recovery and for domestic electricity generation