Iraq fuel station owners claim "daily theft" in fuel deliveries
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Fuel station investors in Iraq called on Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi on Saturday to intervene urgently to stop a daily "major theft" linked to fuel supply shortages.
In a statement, the investors said fuel stations that purchase a 36,000-liter tanker from the Oil Products Distribution Company receive only between 35,000 and 35,500 liters, causing significant financial losses.
“Instead of addressing the shortage, the company sends committees to record the missing quantities as violations and fine the stations four times the value, although the shortfall originates from the supplied quantities.”
Iraq has faced shortages of regular and premium gasoline since late May, with long queues forming at fuel stations. The Oil Ministry attributed the crisis to regional developments and the suspension of a key refinery project, which reduced high-octane gasoline supplies by up to five million liters per day, while motorists increasingly turned to the black market amid limited fuel availability.
