Natural resources in Kurdistan: An impending outbreak of the gas crisis

Natural resources in Kurdistan: An impending outbreak of the gas crisis

Erbil (Kurdistan24) - The Ministry of Natural Resources of the Government of the Kurdistan Region has revealed new data on the fuel crisis, anticipating a breakout in the near future, and emphasizing the region's ability to sell government gasoline to citizens at 450 dinars per tonne if the costs of refining and oil production balance with the rest of the Iraq regions.

The Director General of Contracts at the Ministry of Natural Resources in the region, Dr. Ghazal Houstani, in a statement to Kurdistan 24, on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, explained that the Ministry is working around the clock to alleviate the burden of the global and regional crisis, noting that it provides extensive facilities for companies to import fuel, and stressing that talks with the Federal Ministry of Oil continue to reach radical solutions.

Baghdad fuel support and exclusion of territory

On the reasons for the price disparity, Houstani pointed out that Iraq refineries are unable to meet local consumption, which prompted the federal government to allocate a huge budget to import gasoline through global companies such as the UAE's Adnock at a cost of over 2000 dinars per liter, and then sell it to citizens for 450 dinars by providing government support over 1500 dinars per liter. He confirmed that the region receives neither a liter of this imported fuel nor any share of that budget, despite official correspondence and intensive communications sent to Baghdad.

Houstani revealed that the Federal Ministry of Oil had submitted official requests to increase the region's share of crude oil allocated to local refineries from 50,000 barrels to 130,000 barrels per day, noting that Baghdad had not responded to these proposals, although the region had issued 10 previous official letters warning of this crisis before it occurred.