Drivers seeking gasoline formed long queues outside some stations in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. The large number of vehicles looking for fuel caused disruptions to transportation within the city.
Selim al-Rukabi, spokesperson for Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, attributed the congestion at the stations to the gap between production and consumption. Al-Rukabi said gasoline had been brought in from outside Iraq to address the shortfall, with high-quality gasoline imported in particular.
According to Al-Rukabi, developments in the region and ongoing conflicts have caused logistical problems affecting the movement of tankers. This delayed the tankers’ arrival at Iraqi ports or their berthing at the ports.
Al-Rukabi said only one tanker had so far been contracted, adding that it took time for the tanker to leave the port after unloading its cargo, take on another load and return. He said this had caused a temporary disruption in the delivery of gasoline to stations.
The Ministry of Oil prepared a plan to use multiple tankers to meet the daily need for petroleum products and strengthen strategic reserves. Al-Rukabi said they expected a noticeable improvement in fuel supplies in the near term.
Baghdad residents waited for hours to buy gasoline
Residents struggling to find gasoline visited different stations for hours in order to refuel. Abu Ahmed, one of the residents, said the crisis had begun overnight and that the problem needed to be resolved permanently.
Abu Ahmed said he had spent hours on the road searching for gasoline and had therefore been unable to attend Friday prayers. Taxi driver Ziyad Abdullah said he reached a station with a long queue after searching for gasoline for about two hours in different parts of Baghdad.
The congestion at the stations negatively affected residents’ daily lives, particularly the working routines of taxi drivers.
