LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The European Union plans to add Syria's General Petroleum Corporation (GPC) to its list of sanctioned companies, diplomatic sources told Reuters on Wednesday, in a move designed to starve the government of President Bashar al-Assad of vital oil revenues.
The diplomatic sources said Germany had reached a preliminary agreement with other EU powers to add state-owned GPC, along with several other Syrian firms, to its blacklist, ahead of a formal decision expected on Thursday.
Royal Dutch Shell and China National Petroleum Corporation are both partners of GPC through the Al-Furat joint venture. Shell declined to comment.
Some diplomatic sources said the move would likely make it difficult for European oil firms to continue operating in Syria.
"GPC would be designated which would force European companies that are there to declare force majeure. The idea is that this will give a fillip to the opposition," said one of the European diplomatic sources. (Reporting by Emma Farge and Justyna Pawlak; Additional reporting by Julien Toyer; Editing by Jon Boyle)
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