ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq is facing a daily gasoline shortage of around five million liters as high summer demand outpaces domestic production and regional conflict delays imports, an oil ministry spokesperson said on Friday.
"The crowding in the queues to get gasoline at fuel distribution stations is linked to the disparity between the amount produced and demand," Salim al-Rukabi told Rudaw’s Hastyar Qadir.
The shortage comes as Iraq seeks to restore oil production and exports following a sharp decline after the outbreak of the regional war in late February and subsequent disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Rukabi said the shortfall fluctuates daily but stands at around five million liters. Iraq requires around 35 million liters of gasoline per day during the summer, with part of the deficit covered by maritime imports.
Iraq had crude production capacity of more than 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd) before the conflict, but output fell sharply as disruptions to shipping through Hormuz forced the country to curb production.
"Because of this shortage, the ministry has resorted to importing improved gasoline by sea, utilizing more than one ship for this purpose,” Rukabi stated, noting that “regional events have created issues for the movement of these ships, sometimes causing them to be delayed in reaching Iraqi ports."
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for Iraq’s southern oil exports and fuel imports, remains well below pre-war levels amid the regional conflict.
Iraq has also drawn up plans to raise its crude production capacity to around 10 million bpd by 2030, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said on Tuesday, directing the oil ministry to boost output from fields in the Kurdistan Region and expand exploration.
Zaidi also ordered the full utilization of associated gas to meet domestic energy demand, reduce waste and eventually eliminate Iraq's need for gas imports.
