Makeshift oil refineries busy in Syria
Small improvised open-air oil refineries are a way of life in Syria - and a dangerous one to boot. But they're also a reliable way to make a living for many Syrians.
Run by locals
Men are hard at work at a makeshift oil refinery site in Marchmarin town, south of Idlib in northwestern Syria. The refinery site, owned by 34-year-old Yousef Ayoub, has been active for four months.
Supplying the local economy
Ayoub says that he gets the crude oil from "Islamic State"-controlled areas in Deir al-Zor province and from Iraq. Experts estimate the Syrian oil fields controlled by the "IS" militia produce about 100,000 barrels a day - or 16 million liters.
On the job
This youth is an oil laborer at the makeshift refinery. The refining process is dangerous work and few wear any real protective clothing.
Selling fuel
Yousef Ayoub, pictured at the dusty site of his refinery. Such rudimentary oil enterprises are not an entirely new phenomenon in Syria. There is enough demand, and they offer people work.
Valuable asset
A glimpse of the product. The price for a barrel of crude oil, which varies and is controlled by the "Islamic State", is currently $44 (40 euros) per barrel. Oil is the jihadists' biggest source of revenue.
Ready to go
A worker shows off the final fuel product. Generally, makeshift refineries produce gasoline and a popular heavy form of diesel, and sell them at small fuel markets in their town - or to the "Islamic State."