Croatian energy group cuts oil production in Syria

INA slashes production by 1.5 thousand barrels per day following the European Union's decision to tighten sanctions on the protest-wracked country.Croatia's energy group INA has reduced production on its oil and gas fields in Syria following the European Union's decision to tighten sanctions on the Middle East country, the company said on Wednesday."The European Union has further tightened sanctions against Syria and imposed a ban on the import of Syrian oil into the EU. Due to the recent developments, INA has adjusted its average daily hydrocarbon production rate in Syria, reducing it by 1.5 thousand barrels of oil per day," INA said in a statement.INA has not disclosed its output in Syria, but said the overall output from all of its oilfields worldwide amounts to 76,223 barrels per day.Syria is a small oil producer, and its net oil exports were just 109,000 bpd in 2010, some 99 per cent of which was to Europe, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.INA, whose biggest shareholder is Hungary's MOL , said it would continue to closely monitor the developments related to Syria.INA has both upstream and downstream segments and is active in gas and oil exploration at home, in the Middle East and in Africa. MOL owns 47.46 per cent, while the Croatian government has 44.84 per cent in the company.It is the second-biggest company in Croatia, which completed European Union membership talks this year and hopes to join in July 2013.