ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Rather than introduce subsidies, the Iraqi government has agreed to send five million liters of fuel to the Kurdistan Region every day to help alleviate the pressure of rising fuel prices.
The Iraqi government had decided to send a one-off delivery of 10 million liters, but Kurdish officials warned this would not suffice.
“The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has decided that it will send two million liters daily to Erbil, two million for the Sulaimani province, and one million to Duhok,” Ali Rasheed, head of Erbil’s provincial council, told reporters on Monday.
The oil will be sent through the Kurdistan Region-based KAR group, which refines oil for the Iraqi government. The delivery will help keep the price of fuel between 600 and 650 dinars per liter, according to Rasheed.
“The Iraqi government is resourceful, and it exports a good amount of oil. That is why they have their own subsidized prices. We, because we have salary issues, our crude oil [revenues] are used directly for salaries. Not even one liter of Kurdistan Region’s oil is refined into fuel,” the official said.
This is why the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cannot subsidize the price, he added.
The KRG has adopted a free market system in the oil sector. The price hike has come amid increasing crude oil prices. Rasheed called on the Iraqi government to subsidize the fuel prices for the Kurdistan Region as well.
The Iraqi government had decided to send a one-off delivery of 10 million liters, but Kurdish officials warned this would not suffice.
“The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has decided that it will send two million liters daily to Erbil, two million for the Sulaimani province, and one million to Duhok,” Ali Rasheed, head of Erbil’s provincial council, told reporters on Monday.
The oil will be sent through the Kurdistan Region-based KAR group, which refines oil for the Iraqi government. The delivery will help keep the price of fuel between 600 and 650 dinars per liter, according to Rasheed.
“The Iraqi government is resourceful, and it exports a good amount of oil. That is why they have their own subsidized prices. We, because we have salary issues, our crude oil [revenues] are used directly for salaries. Not even one liter of Kurdistan Region’s oil is refined into fuel,” the official said.
This is why the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cannot subsidize the price, he added.
The KRG has adopted a free market system in the oil sector. The price hike has come amid increasing crude oil prices. Rasheed called on the Iraqi government to subsidize the fuel prices for the Kurdistan Region as well.
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