ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq has increased its daily gasoline production by seven million liters to meet rising domestic demand during the Eid al-Adha holiday, the oil ministry said on Saturday.
Hussein Talib, director general of the Oil Products Distribution Company (OPDC), told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the company had taken proactive measures to secure strategic reserves of fuel products and gas in line with directives from the oil minister ahead of periods of increased consumption.
The OPDC, an affiliate of the oil ministry responsible for distributing fuel products across Iraq, normally supplies around 33 million liters of gasoline per day.
Talib said demand surged during the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday, which began on Wednesday, due to increased travel and movement by families. To prevent shortages and ensure uninterrupted supply, the company raised daily gasoline production and distribution to 40 million liters.
He added that both premium and regular gasoline supplied to the domestic market are produced locally and that current production levels are sufficient to meet demand.
Iraq has in recent years expanded the capacity of its refineries, reducing reliance on imported fuel and increasing domestic production of gasoline and other petroleum products.