Service Rig Back to Work
An oil-well service rig designated XJ has resumed operation in the central region oil fields, in Homs governorate, the Energy Ministry said on 25 June 2026. The Minister of Energy, Mohammad al-Bashir, toured the site to mark its return and review the work carried out on it.
The rig had been out of service and was brought back to operation after maintenance and a full overhaul. Technical teams completed the rehabilitation before the equipment was cleared to resume work in the field.
Repaired With Local Expertise
Officials said the rehabilitation relied on Syrian national expertise and domestic capabilities, allowing the rig to resume repair work on oil and gas wells in the central fields without bringing in equipment or crews from abroad.
Accompanying the minister were his deputy for petroleum affairs, Ghiyath Diab, along with managers and technicians from the Syrian Petroleum Company and other ministry directors who took part in the field visit.
Part of a Wider Revival
The move follows the reactivation of another rig, Ural Mash 2, which the ministry announced on 9 June 2026 after a similar rehabilitation effort. The two restarts came within the same month.
Together, they point to a push to bring idle drilling and well-service equipment back into use using in-house resources rather than waiting on outside suppliers.
Why Well Servicing Matters
Well-service rigs are used to maintain and repair existing wells, work that keeps fields producing. Restoring this capacity locally reduces reliance on outside contractors for routine field operations and the costs that come with them.
The central region fields remain a focus for these efforts as authorities work to sustain output from the country's existing oil and gas infrastructure, much of which needs servicing after years of limited maintenance.