CHAPTER IV

RESTRICTIONS ON FINANCING CERTAIN ENTERPRISES
Article 13
1
The following shall be prohibited:
a
the granting of any financial loan or credit to any Syrian person, entity or body referred to in paragraph 2;
b
the acquisition or extension of a participation in any Syrian person, entity or body referred to in paragraph 2;
c
the creation of any joint venture with any Syrian person, entity or body referred to in paragraph 2;
d
the participation, knowingly and intentionally, in activities the object or effect of which is to circumvent the prohibitions referred to in point (a), (b) or (c).
2
The prohibitions in paragraph 1 shall apply to any Syrian person, entity or body engaged in:
a
the exploration, production or refining of crude oil; or
b
the construction or installation of new power plants for electricity production.
3
For the purposes of paragraph 2 only, the following definitions shall apply:
a
'exploration of crude oil' includes the exploration for, prospecting for and management of crude oil reserves, as well as the provision of geological services in relation to such reserves;
b
'refining of crude oil' means the processing, conditioning or preparation of oil for the ultimately final sale of fuels.
4
The prohibitions in paragraph 1:
a
shall be without prejudice to the execution of an obligation arising from contracts or agreements relating to:
1. the exploration, production or refining of crude oil, concluded before 23 September 2011;
2. the construction or installation of new power plants for electricity production concluded prior to 19 January 2012;
b
shall not prevent the extension of a participation relating to:
1. the exploration, production or refining of crude oil, if such extension is an obligation under an agreement concluded before 23 September 2011;
2. the construction or installation of new power plants for electricity production if such extension is an obligation under an agreement concluded prior to 19 January 2012.