RoydadNaft –  Tareq Shallal, deputy for refining and petrochemical industries at the Syrian Petroleum Company, said gasoline cargoes received at Banias port in Syria have begun moving overland to Iraq.

According to Roydad Naft, citing Russia Today, Shallal told Reuters that the first gasoline cargo, 32,800 tons, arrived at Banias on a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker and was transferred into storage tanks at the Banias refinery.

Overland shipment to Iraq has started, he said. Seventy-seven fuel tank trucks have headed toward the Iraqi border, and loading is continuing.

The Syrian official said the cargo is part of transit and storage operations under specific agreements and is not linked to Syria’s domestic market.

The land movement of fuel is part of Baghdad’s effort to build alternative energy routes after the Strait of Hormuz was closed because of the U.S. war with Iran. Baghdad intends to keep using the overland route even if traffic through Hormuz returns to normal.