Former Army Delta Force officer, US ambassador sign secretive contract to develop Syrian oil fields

The Trump administration has approved the first-ever deal for an American firm to develop and modernize oil fields in northeast Syria under control of the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

The secretive contract, which has been in the works for more than a year and was signed in Syria last month, is expected to produce billions of dollars for Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria, none of which will be shared with the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to sources who spoke to CNN.

News of the deal drew an immediate rebuke from the Assad government in Damascus, which issued a statement Sunday saying the deal was an attempt to "steal Syria's oil under the sponsorship and support of the American administration," and that the agreement is "null and void and has no legal basis."

CNN

Former Army Delta Force officer, US ambassador sign secretive contract to develop Syrian oil fields