“It’s unbelievable, a fuel crisis in the country of oil!” Shouts a taxi driver who has been waiting for almost an hour for his shift at the pump.
Problems with fuel supplies continue in the Iraqi capital Baghdad and other governorates, especially after several filling stations closed their doors ten days ago.
The strange thing is that this crisis is occurring in a country that is the second largest exporter of OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. With a production volume estimated at three and a half million barrels per day, oil accounts for 90 percent of Iraq’s exports.
Similar problems
Baghdad petrol station workers explain the lack of gasoline with “the shortage of Iranian fuel”, as Iraq has for years been dependent on the Islamic Republic for part of its daily consumption. This dependence grew after the destruction of Iraqi refineries, in particular that of Baiji in the governorate of Salah al Din, which provided about 60 percent of Iraqi needs.
The governor of Nineveh, Najm al Jubouri, reports that petroleum products are at high risk of smuggling. And the facts proved him right: in one day, local security forces seized eleven trucks that illegally transported gasoline from Iraq to neighboring countries, mainly to Iran.
Iran is facing the same problems with gasoline, but being subjected to international sanctions its need for US dollars is far more important. The fear now is that this fuel crisis will spread to southern Iraqi cities, such as Basra and Dhi Qar, where leaflets calling for new protests are already widely circulating.
(Translation by Francesco De Lellis)