Kirkuk faces daily gasoline shortfall of 360,000 liters

Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Kirkuk province needs about 2.21 million liters of gasoline a day but receives only around 1.85 million, a shortfall of roughly 360,000 liters that is causing crowding at fuel stations, an official told Shafaq News on Tuesday.

Thaher Anwar al-Asi, head of the oil and energy committee on the Kirkuk Provincial Council, said demand keeps rising, and the distribution of about 7,500 new fuel cards has added to the pressure at several stations.

Kirkuk's location adds to the strain. According to al-Asi, the province is a key transit route between several provinces and regions, bringing extra vehicles onto its roads every day. “Relevant authorities are working to ease the crowding and improve supply.”

Baghdad and several other provinces have faced weeks of gasoline shortages, with long queues and dozens of stations closing. The Oil Ministry has attributed the shortages to delayed gasoline imports as regional tensions disrupted tanker movements.

In late September, Iraq began importing gasoline through Syria for the first time, with shipments arriving at the port of Baniyas for onward transport by tanker truck, an oil source told Shafaq News.