Damascus - Syrian crude oil production has dropped from 380,000 to 280,000 barrels a day because of international sanctions, the Syrian Oil Minister Sufian Allaw revealed in an interview with the Chinese Xinhua news agency. The sanctions were imposed by the United States and the European Union to force the regime of President al-Assad to resign following the brutal crackdown in effect since protests began in March. Although Syrian oil production is minimal on the international markets, it is 28% of Syria's national revenue. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the sanctions as 95% of the country's oil exports go to Europe.