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Gasoline Shortages Frustrate Kurds in
Kurdistan-Iraq
7.7.2006
By Margaret Besheer |
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It is an irony of Iraqi life,
that the country with the world's second-largest
proven oil reserves must import petroleum products,
and has a thriving black market for gasoline. The
high cost of gas is driving up prices on everything
from produce to appliances, and Iraqis are
frustrated.
ERBIL, Kurdistan-Iraq, Under the blazing mid-day
sun, taxis idle by the side of the road in the
mostly Kurdish city of Erbil. They are waiting for
their allotment of gasoline.
Adam says he has been waiting for an hour-and-a-half
to fill his tank.
"Forty liters is only enough for one day, and when I
run out, I have to buy gasoline on the black
market," he said. He added that he pays about $15
for 20 liters on the black market; a hefty sum for a
man who earns only about $200 per month.
But as a taxi driver, Adam is doing better than many
other Iraqis. Taxis are allowed 40 liters every five
days, but private cars are only allowed to fill up
every seven days. Gas station prices are set by the
government, and taxi drivers receive a discount of a
few cents per liter.
Saleh Agha Miran owns the gas station where the
taxis are waiting to fill up. The amount of gasoline
he gets is controlled by the government, and, when
he runs out, he has to close his station until the
next delivery.
"If you want to know the truth, the whole city
depends on the black market," he said.
Saleh noted that if smugglers did not supply the
city, life would stop.
Iraqis need the fuel, not only for their cars, but
also for cooking and to power generators. With
government electricity in short supply across most
of the country, generators are essential, especially
in summer heat, which can rise above 50 degrees
centigrade.
At another gas station across town, this one for
private cars, Ismail waits.
"This is not a life; we do not have fuel, we do not
have electricity," he complained. He said that black
market prices are high and gas stations are sold
out.
A new report from the Iraqi government says refinery
output has declined between 40 percent and 60
percent since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Refineries are often the target of sabotage, and are
in need of extensive rehabilitation. Spare parts are
also in short supply, and there are technical
problems to resolve.
What Iraq does produce is sold on the open market,
leaving Iraqis to rely a great deal on imported
petroleum products. Many of those products come from
neighboring Turkey.
At the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing between
Kurdistan (northern Iraq) and Turkey, the lines of
trucks stretch for kilometers on both sides of the
border.
A truck driver told VOA that he has been waiting on
the Iraqi side of the border for eight days to take
his empty fuel tanker back to Turkey. He says he
expects his roundtrip will take a month in total.
Many drivers complain that they make no money by the
time they pay their travel expenses, and the customs
duties on their cargo.
Many Iraqis blame Turkey for the lines at the
border, saying their neighbor intentionally closes
the crossing to cause them headaches. Whether
purposeful or not, such delays only further
aggravate the shortage of gasoline.
Back in Irbil, Sadiq sits in the trailer that serves
as his office, counting wads of cash - the proceeds
from his illicit gasoline business.
The black market functions very openly, with
smugglers together on a big lot filled with oil
tanks and makeshift offices. On city sidewalks,
young men and boys, sell 20-liter jugs of black
market gasoline to passing motorists.
Sadiq, the black marketer, says the work is
dangerous but lucrative.
"If the smugglers did not bring gasoline from Syria
or Iran, the price would be very high, and no one
would be able to buy it," he said. He added that
there are not enough refineries to meet demand.
Iraq's central government is working to address the
shortages, but until then Sadiq and his fellow
smugglers are likely to continue profiting.
voanews com
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