Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to require all oil products sold in the UK to carry a Certificate of Origin to ensure that they do not come from Daesh-controlled areas.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

There is no evidence of oil products originating from Daesh-controlled areas reaching the UK market. The majority of Daesh’s oil is refined and sold within the territory it controls with the rest being sold in other parts of Syria and Iraq, including to the Asad regime, and smaller amounts being smuggled onto the regional black market. By halting and reversing Daesh’s territorial advance, Global Coalition military action has squeezed Daesh’s revenue sources. Our targeting of Daesh’s oil facilities has reduced its production capability by 25%, which equates to approximately 10% of their total income.

In parallel to this military assault on Daesh’s oil facilities, the UK has led efforts to create and enforce an international sanctions regime to cut Daesh off from trading with international markets, including in oil products. This regime is underpinned by UN Security Council Resolutions 2178, 2199, 1267 and 2253. We work closely with our regional partners to ensure these sanctions are fully implemented. We also work closely with the oil industry in the UK, and further afield, to prevent Daesh procuring the equipment and fuel additives it needs to keep its oil production going.