ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Household gas prices across the Kurdistan Region have doubled following the suspension of production at the Khor Mor gas field in Sulaimani province due to security threats linked to ongoing US-Iran tensions and recent drone attacks targeting the Region.
"The price of LPG at fuel stations has reached 800 dinars (around $0.61) per liter," Jangi Majid, head of the Erbil fuel station owners association, told Rudaw's Soran Hussein on Saturday.
The price of LPG, widely used for household cooking, has increased from 400 dinars per liter (around $0.30) before July 15, meaning refilling a standard 22 liter household gas cylinder now costs nearly 18,000 dinars (around $13.76), compared with around 9,000 dinars (around $6.88) earlier this week.
The increase comes two days after UAE-based Dana Gas announced it had temporarily suspended operations at the Khor Mor gas field in Sulaimani province’s Chamchamal district, citing credible security threats amid the ongoing drone attack on the Kurdistan Region.
Iran has struck several locations in the Kurdistan Region's Erbil and Sulaimani provinces over the past two days. Nine members of the Iranian Kurdish opposition group, Komala, were killed in the strikes.
The Erbil-based Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) said 13 drones had been intercepted by the US-led global coalition forces in the Kurdish capital without causing casualties.
In Sulaimani, the strikes targeted Tasluja, north of the city's Jalal Talabani Airport. No civilian casualties were reported in the province.
The Khor Mor facility is the Kurdistan Region's largest source of natural gas for electricity generation and household cooking gas. Following the halt of operations, the Kurdistan Region has also faced significant power shortages amid the scorching heat.
In response to the energy crisis, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said on Friday it had begun dispatching gas tankers across the Region and reorganizing electricity distribution to prevent a shortage of household cooking gas after the shutdown reduced power generation by around 2,500 megawatts.
Fuel prices have also continued to rise.
Majid said the wholesale price of regular gasoline has increased to 1,300 dinars per liter (around $0.99), while diesel is selling for 1,000 dinars per liter (around $0.76).
Khor Mor previously suspended production during the US-Israel war against Iran earlier this year, when operations were halted for more than six weeks following the outbreak of the US-Iran war that began in late February.
On February 28, the US and Israel launched a coordinated military campaign against Iran, carrying out thousands of strikes across the country.
In response, Tehran and its allied armed groups in Iraq launched thousands of drone and missile strikes across the Middle East, targeting alleged US assets in the region, including attacks on the Kurdistan Region, housing US facilities and the Iranian Kurdish opposition groups.
