Drivers Endure Overnight Gas Lines as a War-Driven Fuel Shortage Grips Iraq's Kurdish Region
Only a handful of government-run stations were still selling gasoline as regional authorities blamed conflict-related supply cuts and price controls for the shortage.
- On Tuesday, July 28, 2026, a severe fuel crisis gripped Irbil, Iraq, forcing drivers to wait in long lines at the few remaining operating gas stations as temperatures climbed above 45 degrees Celsius.
- Security threats linked to the war in Iran, including drone attacks, prompted Dana Gas to reduce production at its Khor Mor gas field, which Kurdish regional government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani blamed for the shortages.
- Attendant Ameen Karwan said his station received 36,000 liters of fuel that morning, serving about 300 vehicles, while each family remains limited to one 40-liter fill-up twice per week.
- Private stations stopped selling fuel after authorities mandated lower prices, causing lost working hours for drivers like car dealer Abdullah Hamad, who noted the irony of shortages in an oil-rich country.
- To boost supplies and lower prices, Barzani called for Baghdad to increase the Kurdish region's crude oil allocation from 50,000 barrels a day to about 126,700 barrels to mitigate the crisis.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Irbil fuel crisis deepens as Iran-linked tensions choke petrol supply
Drivers in Irbil queued for hours and overnight as most private petrol stations shut during a worsening fuel shortage. The disruption, linked to security threats, production cuts and price controls, has deepened public anger in Iraq's oil-rich Kurdish region.
The Toronto Star
Drivers endure overnight gas lines as a war-driven fuel shortage grips Iraq’s Kurdish region
IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Drivers in Iraq's semiautonomous northern Kurdish region waited in line for hours, some overnight, to buy gasoline in recent days as a fuel crisis gripped the main city, Irbil.
Associated Press News
Drivers endure overnight gas lines as a war-driven fuel shortage grips Iraq's Kurdish region
A fuel crisis has hit Iraq's Kurdish region, leaving drivers in Irbil waiting for hours, some overnight, to buy gasoline.
Iraq faces worsening fuel shortage as diesel queues grow in Baghdad
Iraq's oil ministry is preparing to import diesel as queues lengthen at Baghdad filling stations, eight months after the prime minister ordered fuel imports halted on the grounds that the country had reached self-sufficiency.
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