LONDON, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Gulfsands Petroleum, which has headquarters in London, said Thursday it was confident it will be able to recommit itself to developments in Syria.
Gulfsands said it was working with its joint venture partner Sinochem Corp., a Chinese company, in monitoring its assets at the Khurbet East and Yousefieh fields in Syria.
The company in 2012 suspended operations in Syria because of sanctions imposed by Western governments responding to civil war.
"The board [of directors] is confident of the company's ... eventual return to operations in Syria once European Union and other sanctions permit," Gulfsands Chief Executive Officer Mahdi Sajjad said in a statement.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration says Syria's energy sector is in decline because of war and Western economic sanctions.
Gulfsands said the Khurbet East and Yousefieh fields are shut down and no longer in production because of the conflict.
The company said the infrastructure associated with the fields is intact and secure according to the terms of agreements made between the government in Damascus and local communities.
"The company understands that infrastructure in the region continues to be operational with significant production from other fields in the area operated by the central government," Gulfsands said.
