Iraq Scrambles to Restore Fuel Supplies Amid Regional War

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - A severe gasoline shortage has spread across Kirkuk, Baghdad and several central and southern Iraqi provinces, forcing motorists into long queues as technical problems at refineries, delayed imports and panic buying strain supplies in one of the world’s largest oil-producing countries.

Kurdistan24 correspondent Hemin Delo, reporting from Kirkuk on Saturday, said filling stations across the province have been heavily congested, with motorists waiting extended periods for fuel.

Regular gasoline supplies have tightened, while government-subsidized stations have struggled to provide motorists with their allocated 50 liters every five days.

Improved-grade gasoline has also been largely unavailable in Kirkuk and many other Iraqi cities for almost a week.

The Kirkuk Oil Products Company attributed the shortage of improved gasoline to technical problems that halted production at refineries supplying the grade. Officials indicated that new supplies could reach Iraqi cities later Saturday.

In Kirkuk, regular gasoline is distributed through a coupon system under which residents receive 50 liters every five days. Improved-grade gasoline is also available through coupons at 850 Iraqi dinars per liter, while motorists purchasing without coupons can pay between 1,500 and 2,000 dinars per liter at commercial stations.

Baghdad Queues Grow as Demand Surges

Kurdistan24 correspondent Dilan Barzan reported from Baghdad that the shortage of improved and super-grade gasoline has produced long lines across the capital.

Some government stations exhaust their subsidized gasoline supplies by noon, forcing drivers either to return the next day or search for fuel elsewhere.

Improved and super-grade gasoline have been unavailable in Baghdad and several central and southern provinces for roughly a week.

One motorist waiting in line told Kurdistan24 that the recurring shortages were particularly frustrating in a country that exports millions of barrels of crude oil.

“We live in Iraq, where they create a new problem for us every day—today it is gasoline, and yesterday it was gas,” he said.

Another driver said the shortage appeared suddenly and complained that fuel queues had compounded the already heavy traffic around Baghdad stations.

The Oil Ministry says average nationwide gasoline demand is about 33 million liters per day, but consumption can rise to around 38 million liters when fears of shortages prompt motorists to buy more fuel than usual.

That surge in demand has made the existing supply problem worse.

The ministry on Friday urged citizens to purchase only what they need and avoid unnecessary crowding at filling stations.

Iraqi Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair al-Abadi said operational teams were working around the clock to stabilize supplies and that additional gasoline shipments were expected shortly.

During a crisis-cell meeting with senior oil-sector officials, Abadi described the shortage as temporary and said the ministry was monitoring distribution and taking measures to secure petroleum products.

The ministry has also signed a contract to import additional gasoline, according to earlier government statements.

Regional War Disrupts Imports

The shortage is not purely a domestic refining problem.

Agence France-Presse reported Saturday that gasoline imports have been disrupted by the wider Middle East conflict, particularly the impact of the U.S.-Iran war on maritime traffic.

Iraq is OPEC’s second-largest crude producer, but its domestic refineries still do not produce enough gasoline to satisfy total national demand, leaving the country dependent on imported petroleum products.

That dependence has become more visible as the war has disrupted tanker movement and complicated deliveries to Iraqi ports.

The Oil Ministry said Friday that “regional events and the ongoing conflict” were creating logistical difficulties for tanker traffic and delaying arrivals.

Baghdad resident Ibrahim Hashem told AFP that he waited for two hours outside a station Friday without obtaining gasoline and returned early the following morning hoping to refuel.

He questioned how a country producing millions of barrels of oil per day could still struggle to meet ordinary gasoline demand.

The shortage has also worsened congestion in Baghdad, where motorists already face chronic traffic problems.

The regional conflict has hit Iraq’s wider oil economy as well.

Before the war began in February, Iraq produced around four million barrels of crude per day and exported roughly 3.4 million barrels daily, most of it through the Strait of Hormuz.

After a substantial decline, Iraqi crude exports recovered to more than 2.2 million barrels per day in August, according to Oil Ministry figures cited by AFP.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported last month that Tehran had allowed a number of Iraqi oil tankers to pass through Hormuz during the previous six months.

The continuing restrictions around the strategic strait, however, have made both crude exports and fuel imports more vulnerable to delays.

For Iraq, the situation exposes a longstanding contradiction: the country possesses enormous crude reserves and is a leading oil exporter, but it remains dependent on foreign supplies of refined fuels because domestic refinery capacity has not fully matched consumption.

The government has sought to expand refining capacity and reduce import dependence, but the latest crisis shows how exposed domestic fuel supplies remain when regional shipping is disrupted.

Abadi said Friday that the ministry had made progress in increasing production and strengthening the extraction, refining, distribution and gas sectors during the new government’s first 100 days.

He also said the ministry was working to develop a new economic model for refining and distribution while protecting employees’ financial rights.

Those longer-term plans offer little immediate relief to drivers waiting in queues.

For now, the government is relying on emergency imports, restored refinery output and appeals against panic buying to stabilize the market.

Officials say additional shipments are expected soon.

Whether those deliveries are sufficient to end the queues will depend not only on domestic distribution, but also on the increasingly uncertain regional shipping environment created by the Iran conflict and disruption around Hormuz.