The Syrian Ministry of Energy said, on Sunday, that the rise in the prices of petroleum derivatives in the country came as a result of the exceptional increase in the cost of securing products globally, coinciding with the entry of the Baniyas refinery into a comprehensive overhaul for about two months, stressing that the price adjustment is temporary, and aims to ensure continued supplies in the local market.
The ministry added that the rise in the cost of gasoline, diesel, and fuel is not linked to the price of crude oil alone, as refined products markets face pressure due to a decline in supply, disruption of refining capacities, and high costs of transportation, shipping, and insurance.
According to the prices monitored by the Ministry, the price of a ton of diesel is close to $1,400, and gasoline is $1,350, while the price of Brent crude is around $100 per barrel.
Director of the Information Department at the Ministry of Energy, Abdel Hamid Salat, told SANA that adjusting the prices of oil derivatives came as a result of exceptional circumstances and temporary changes in the global energy markets, which imposed a significant increase in the cost of securing derivatives, and prices are not a fixed path or one direction, but are subject to review up and down as the cost and circumstances change.
The Ministry explained that the damage to refining capacities in Russia and the Middle East, in addition to the disruption of supply and navigation routes in the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, led to an increase in the costs of refined products at a pace greater than the rise in crude prices.
Syria's need for oil and its derivatives is about 300,000 barrels per day, compared to a local production of crude of about 100,000 barrels per day, which makes the country dependent on imports to cover part of its needs.
The Syrian market needs about 7.72 million liters of diesel daily, of which 3.09 million liters are locally produced and 4.63 million liters are imported, meaning that about 60 percent of diesel supplies depend on imports.
As for gasoline, the average daily supply is about 2.32 million liters, of which 1.54 million liters are locally produced and about 775 thousand liters are imported, while the average domestic gas supply is about 912 tons per day, with a heavy reliance on imports.
The Ministry explained that producing crude oil locally does not mean the possibility of converting all quantities into gasoline and diesel, as some of the Syrian crude is heavy and not fully compatible with the available refining capabilities and specifications, while limited quantities of unsuitable crude are exported to refineries in parallel with the import of the required products.
Baniyas Refinery, one of the main refining facilities in Syria, has entered into a comprehensive overhaul that is expected to last about two months, reducing local refining capacity and increasing the need to import finished petroleum products.
The Ministry of Energy said that the price adjustment aims to address a temporary gap between the cost of securing derivatives and their selling price locally, to ensure financing of successive shipments and the continued availability of products in the market.
She added that the Syrian Petroleum Company bears responsibility for securing the needs of the market, while its dues from the Syrian Electricity Company during the year 2026 amounted to about 1.7 billion dollars in exchange for gas and energy carriers.
The Ministry confirmed that prices will remain subject to review according to developments in global markets and the return of local refining capabilities after the end of the Baniyas refinery.
She said that reducing Syria's dependence on abroad requires increasing oil and gas production, rehabilitating fields, wells, refineries, transportation lines, and strategic facilities, in addition to enhancing storage, diversifying sources of supply, and attracting investments and partnerships in the energy sector.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that the company will not go public during the current year, attributing this to growing concerns regarding the safety of artificial intelligence.
Altman said, in an interview with Fortune magazine published on Saturday, that going public with the company “at the present time would be an inappropriate decision” in light of what is happening in terms of the safety of artificial intelligence, adding that the company does not feel pressured to do so.
When asked if an IPO was out of the company's calculations for 2026, Altman replied: "I would say yes, not in 2026. We have a lot of things to do."
OpenAI has not announced an official date for offering its shares on the market.
OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, is competing with Anthropic to become two companies listed on the public markets. The two companies have submitted confidential IPO documents to US regulators, and are targeting valuations approaching $1 trillion.
The New York Times reported in June that OpenAI was inclined to postpone its launch until next year.
In another sign of mounting concerns about the safety of artificial intelligence, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Saturday called on artificial intelligence companies to slow the pace of development of advanced technology.
“We must slow the pace at which we develop the capabilities of artificial intelligence models,” Amodei said in a post on his personal website, adding that progress will remain rapid, but slowing the pace will give the sector time to make wiser decisions.
Altman and Elon Musk, owner of XAI, supported Amodei's assessment of the need to slow down the pace of AI development.
These statements came days after artificial intelligence researcher Jacob Cookson left the sector, following his move from Open AI to Anthropic, due to safety concerns.
Coxon had written on the “X” platform that those working on developing artificial intelligence seriously believe that this technology may pose an existential threat to humanity before the end of the decade.
When Altman was asked by Fortune about the risks of human extinction, he said that those working in this field bear an “enormous responsibility,” and cannot allow ego, financial incentives, or any other factors to influence their decisions.
OpenAI revealed in July that its models were able, during tests, to exit their isolated environment, connect to the Internet, and infiltrate the “Hagging Face” platform, which developers use to store and share code.
The incident caused more than a thousand employees in companies specialized in developing the latest artificial intelligence technologies to sign a petition in which they called on the US government to help slow down the introduction of the most advanced artificial intelligence models.
Last month, the US government launched a voluntary mechanism to review the security of advanced artificial intelligence models before launching them, but the details and standards of the program are still unclear.
