A Western oil source told United Press International Wednesday that Marathon, the first and oldest investor in Syrian oil and gas "will leave the country after selling its shares and contract to PetroCanada."

"The decision was sparked by fears from additional sanctions that U.S. President George Bush is seeking to impose on Damascus in addition to problems between the U.S. company and the Syrian government," said the source who requested anonymity.

"At any moment President Bush can increase sanctions on Syria to cover investments as a further move following the Syria Accountability Act which he ratified in 2004," he said.

"It is true that the Syria Accountability Act which was endorsed by the Congress does not include U.S. investments, medical and food exports," he continued, "but the American president can at any moment increase sanctions in line with the same law."

The source said big companies have been investing between $100 million and $300 million "which constitute big investments no one can risk."
Marathon has been working in Syria since 1978 and the total value of its contract is $125 million.

The company faced many problems with the Syrian government, especially when it discovered gas, forcing the Syrian government at the end to agree on signing a new contract with Marathon giving it prospecting rights.

"But in view of the accumulating problems with the Syrian government we have reached an agreement under which we will relinquish our shares and contact to another oil company," the source said without identifying the buyer.
Western diplomatic sources, however, said PetroCanada will buy Marathon's shares.

Marathon development raises many questions

This news about Marathon raises many questions , since according to official news agency SANA the Syrian government has signed in early May of this year a 127 million-dollar contract for oil and gas exploration in the central region of the country, official news agency SANA reported Tuesday.

Under the 25-year contract signed on May 8 with the state-run Syrian Oil Company, the US-based Marathon Oil Company was to finance and develop two oil and gas fields, the al-Shae'r and al-Sharyfah fields in north Homs, 162 kilometres north-west of Damascus.

Syria currently produces 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 22 million cubic metres (770 million cubic feet) of gas. Damascus hopes to increase oil production by 100,000 barrels a day.

Former PM Rafik Hariri 's assassination

Syria has been under tremendous pressure following the assassination of
Former Lebanon's PM Rafik Hariri. The chief UN investigator Detlev Mehlis in his reports to the UN pointed fingers at Syria's security apparatus and its Lebanese counterparts.

On June 15, Serge Brammertz who replaced Detlev Mehlis will submit an updated report to the UN. Press reports have said that he is now almost certain that an underground explosion in additional to the truck bomb caused the blast that killed Hariri.

This new revelation by Brammertz on the location of the bomb could further implicate the Syrian regime in the murder of Hariri, since Syria along with its allies were in charge of security at the time of the blast. Most observers believe that there is no way a bomb could have been planted underground without the knowledge of the Syrian security apparatus. This could lead to further pressure on Syria and possibly additional sanctions.

Brammertz according to reports has made several secret trips to Syria ( in addition to his publicized interview with president Assad) to interview general Rustom Ghazali (who was in charge of Lebanon at the time of Hariri's assassination) and other Syrian senior officials who were named in Mehlis report.

All the four Lebanese generals who were in charge of security at the time of the Hariri assassination are now in Jail pending trial.

Sources: Ya Libnan, UPI, Watchermagazine