Fuel tanker arrives in Iraq amid persisting gasoline shortages

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A tanker carrying imported gasoline has arrived at Iraqi ports and begun unloading its cargo, the oil ministry said Wednesday, as the government seeks to ease shortages at fuel stations caused by delays in fuel shipments.

Salim al-Rukabi, spokesperson for the Iraqi Oil Ministry, told Rudaw's Hastyar Qadir on Wednesday that the tanker had arrived at the country's ports and that its cargo was being unloaded.

The gasoline was imported by the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) at a competitive price, al-Rukabi said.

While Iraq produces around 32 million liters of gasoline per day, domestic production has yet to meet demand, particularly during the summer when fuel consumption rises, according to the Oil Ministry.

Rukabi projected that the tanker's arrival is expected to ease shortages and improve the distribution of gasoline to fuel stations in the coming days. He added that the ministry is working to meet domestic demand through local production eventually.

The current shortage was caused by a delay involving one of the tankers carrying imported gasoline to southern Iraqi ports, which affected the unloading schedule and subsequent distribution to fuel stations, said Rukabi.

The shortages come as Iraq continues to face disruptions across its oil and fuel sector following months of regional conflict, while the country remains heavily dependent on imported petroleum products to cover domestic demand.

Iraq's broader oil exports have also been affected by disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Oil Ministry spokesperson al-Rukabi told Rudaw on Wednesday that crude exports through Iraq's southern ports were averaging nearly 2 million barrels per day, while exports through the northern route via the Kurdistan Region to Turkey's Ceyhan port remained unstable at around 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) and fluctuated from day to day.

The federal government and Turkey signed a one-year agreement on August 1 to resume and gradually increase crude exports through the Iraq -Turkey pipeline toward 750,000 bpd. Baghdad has said restoring alternative export routes is important amid heavy reliance on routes through the Strait of Hormuz.

The gasoline shortage has also affected the Kurdistan Region. 

Last week, Kurdish lawmakers submitted a petition to Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi seeking to increase the region's allocation of crude oil for domestic fuel production from 50,000 to 140,000 bpd, citing persistent shortages and high gasoline prices.

Under an August 2025 agreement between Baghdad and Erbil, the Kurdistan Regional Government retains 50,000 bpd of crude from fields in the region for domestic use, while the remainder is handed to SOMO.