Drivers have formed long lines outside fuel stations in Baghdad as gasoline supplies dropped in oil-rich Iraq due to import disruptions caused by the Middle East war, AFP reports.
Despite being Opec’s second-largest oil producer, Iraq imports oil derivatives because its refineries do not produce enough gasoline to meet domestic demand.
In recent weeks, as regional hostilities drag on, long queues have been reappearing every few days, mostly outside government-run fuel stations in Baghdad and other provinces.
Baghdad resident Ibrahim Hashem waited for two hours outside a fuel station on Friday without any luck, only to return early the next day hoping to fill his car.
The oil ministry said yesterday that “regional events and the ongoing conflict are causing logistical challenges to tanker traffic, delaying their arrival at Iraqi ports”.
