As a result of the rush to make quick money, open-air refineries have been set up in Deir Ezzor and al-Raqqa provinces. Crude is stored in ditches and heated in metal tanks by wood fires, shrouding the region with plumes of black smoke, exposing the local population to the dangers of the thick smog and the frequent explosions at the improvised plants.
Heating oil, diesel and petrol is condensed in hoses running from the tanks through pools of water and sold across the north, as far as Aleppo. The remaining crude is shipped by road on tankers to Turkey.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/19/eu-syria-oil-jihadist-al-qaida
A brilliant example how Europe’s lifting of the oil embargo goes hand in hand with the interests of Turkey and of Jihadist groups not only fighting for “democracy” against Assad but also fighting other Sunnis and Kurds (also Sunnis) for oil.
It is also interesting how Jihadist analphabets can just setup (by them selves) refineries, a task which is even a challenge for lots of 3rd world countries.