Syria is located in the oil producing area at the northern end of the Arab region. It is located on the edge of the Iraqi oil field and has more than 800 oil and gas structures. The mined oil fields are concentrated in the Euphrates River Basin in the eastern Syrian and the Turkish-Iraqi border areas in the northeast. At present, the proven reserves are 2.5 billion barrels, accounting for 3.47% of the total oil reserves of the Arab countries (711.8 billion barrels) and 0.2% of the world's total reserves.

The Syrian oil industry started late, beginning in the early 1980s, after which Syria has been importing oil from Iraq. The first commercially valuable oil development project was the Karakuk oil field in the northeast (developed in 1956). It began to produce oil in 1968 and mainly produces heavy oil. In the next 10 years, it will remain in the daily production of 150,000 to 170,000 barrels. In 1984, the American Shell Oil Company's Parker subsidiary discovered light oil in the young river basin. Since then, the Syrian oil industry has entered a new era. In 1988, Syria realized oil self-sufficiency. In 1989, it began to export oil. From an oil importing country to an oil exporting country, it earned 1 billion Syrian pounds for Syrian foreign trade. Oil has become one of the important pillars of the Syrian national economy and is the main source of foreign exchange for Syria.