David Mowat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mowat on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he and officials in his Department have had with the government of Israel on the prevention of oil smuggling from wells under the control of Daesh; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We have briefed the Government of Israel on Coalition efforts to target and disrupt Daesh oil sales through military action and sanctions. Daesh oil sales are a complicated picture. It is known that individuals linked to the Assad regime have bought Daesh oil and there is some smuggling across borders in the region, but the majority of Daesh’s oil is refined and sold within the territory it controls. We have no evidence to suggest that Israel is buying oil from Daesh controlled oilfields.