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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s oil ministry told Rudaw that a gasoline shipment arriving through Syria’s Baniyas port contains around 30,000 tons of gasoline, while supplying imported petroleum products to the Kurdistan Region remains under discussion.
Ministry spokesperson Salim al-Rukabi told Rudaw's Noushin Hami on Wednesday that Iraq consumes around 35 million liters of gasoline daily, compared with domestic production of about 30 million liters.
“The current gap is around 5 million liters per day,” Rukabi said, adding that the figures do not include the Kurdistan Region. He said the shortfall is being covered through imports from various entry points, including the recent Baniyas shipment.
The imports come as disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz - through which more than 90 percent of Iraq’s crude oil passed prior to the US-Iran war - have pushed Baghdad to explore alternative overland and pipeline routes amid a domestic fuel supply gap.
The Kurdistan Region is likewise grappling with a severe fuel shortage following six weeks of the US-Iran war and subsequent tit-for-tat strikes.
In addition to maritime restrictions, oil companies operating in the Region have scaled back production after coming under attack from Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq as a precautionary measure to limit potential damage.
Three successive KRG measures introduced in July – capping prices, mandating the use of fuel cards, and increasing the allocation of subsidized gasoline – have failed to curb soaring prices or ease the long queues at filling stations.
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 Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO).
Kurdish lawmakers in mid-August 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.
Syria began transporting gasoline to Iraq through Baniyas on Thursday under a three-month renewable agreement, according to state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). The first shipment involved 57 tanker trucks crossing into Iraq through al-Tanf.
Rukabi stressed that “gasoline prices are fixed and have not changed,” adding that transportation, transit fees and other costs are included in the commercial offer for the gasoline, while the total value of shipments and contracts falls under the responsibility of SOMO.
The frequency and volume of tankers crossing Syria into Iraq will depend on technical and logistical factors, including entry procedures, official permits and unloading capacity, he said.
On whether the imported supplies will also reach the Kurdistan Region, Rukabi said the issue “is still under discussion,” including the mechanism for supplying the region if the decision is approved.
According to SANA, Ahmad Qabbahji, vice executive president for transport and storage at the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC), said on Thursday that authorities are working "to raise the operational capacity to approximately 200 tankers per day" via the border crossing, adding that Syria is currently facilitating the movement of between 1,000 and 1,200 Iraqi crude-oil tanker trucks per day.
Earlier this month, Baghdad Provincial Council member Ali al-Zarkani stated that Iraq planned to import gasoline from the UAE and neighboring countries to address a supply gap caused by rising consumption and limited refining capacity.
