Iraq’s parliamentary committee tasked with addressing the fuel shortage in the Kurdistan Region has announced a new development after meeting with the federal oil minister.
The committee said Iraq’s Oil Ministry currently cannot provide additional fuel products to the Kurdistan Region. The ministry cited its own gasoline shortage and its reliance on imported fuel.
Sipan Sherwani, a member of the parliamentary Oil Committee, spoke to reporters after the meeting. He said Oil Minister Mohammed Khudair told the committee that the ministry could not supply the requested petroleum products to the Kurdistan Region.
The minister also rejected a Council of Ministers decision that called for supplying 15,000 barrels of crude oil, or its equivalent in gasoline, to the Kurdistan Region.
According to the minister’s explanation, the Council of Ministers has approved only 50,000 barrels of crude oil for the Region’s refineries. Therefore, any request for additional crude requires an amendment to the existing government decision.
The Kurdistan Region has previously requested up to 115,000 barrels of crude oil per day to address its fuel needs.
Sherwani criticized the federal government’s position and said officials’ statements do not match their actions. He added that the Kurdistan Region has proposed several solutions to resolve the shortage.
One proposal calls for Baghdad to provide the Region with the amount of crude oil required based on its population. Another option involves supplying an equivalent amount of gasoline.
The Region has also proposed receiving its share of imported fuel. However, Sherwani said federal authorities have not accepted any of these proposals.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary committee plans to continue discussions with Iraq’s Ministry of Natural Resources. Officials from the ministry are expected to attend another meeting on Thursday.
The committee will then prepare its recommendations and submit them to the Iraqi Parliament’s leadership.
The fuel shortage has created growing pressure across the Kurdistan Region. Authorities and parliamentarians have been seeking additional supplies to stabilize gasoline availability and prevent further disruption to consumers.
The latest decision from the Oil Ministry, however, suggests that Baghdad will not provide the additional fuel requested by the Region under the current government arrangements.
