In December, the 550-mile oil pipeline stretching from Kirkuk, Iraq, across 305 miles of Syria to the Mediterranean ports of Baniyas and Tripoli went as dry as the arid land through which it snakes.

Syria has been struggling with oil shortages, as no crude shipments from its key supplier, Iran, have arrived since November. The country also issued an import tender for 20,000 tons of LPG and is ...