The price of gasoline in Kurdistan is 3 times that in Baghdad..and these are the reasons

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[size=52]The price of gasoline in Kurdistan is 3 times that in Baghdad..and these are the reasons[/size]

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[size=45]The high fuel crisis in the Kurdistan region has cast a shadow over the economic situation of the population, in light of the repeated demands by the authorities to intervene to solve the crisis, which is occurring in an oil-rich region.[/size]
[size=45]The price of one liter  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  is 1500 Iraqi dinars (about one dollar), while the price of a liter of gasoline in the capital  , [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] , is about 450 dinars, which is a big difference, arising from the accumulation of  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  and the inability of the competent authorities to deal with the matter.[/size]
[size=45]During the previous years, fuel prices were low due to the drop in the oil price, in addition to the fact that the price of the dollar was 120,000 dinars per 100 dollars, but the situation changed radically after the rise in fuel prices globally, and the adjustment of the exchange rate by the Iraqi government, the exchange rate became close to 150 thousand dinars, for one hundred dollars.[/size]

[size=45]When  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  last Saturday, widespread protests to denounce the deterioration of the living conditions, the lack of job opportunities and the delay in the monthly salaries of employees, the file of high  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  was on the list of demands of the protesters, who were harshly confronted by the security authorities.[/size]
[size=45]The most affected segment[/size]
[size=45]The segment of taxi drivers stands out, as the groups of the Kurdistan region society most affected by this alarming rise in fuel prices, for their urgent need to supply their cars with gasoline more than others, which was also reflected on the poor classes who use taxis in their transportation, as taxi prices rose to more than 35%.[/size]
[size=45]In the center of Sulaymaniyah province, on Mawlawi Street, Amanj Reber, a taxi driver, was coming from the city of Bakhtiari.[/size]
[size=45]Reaper told Sky News Arabia that the rise in the price of gasoline turned the lives of citizens upside down, and was not limited to taxi owners.[/size]
[size=45]"The regional authorities are still indifferent to this continuous rise, which portends great dangers, such as demonstrations or a general strike," Reber added.[/size]
[size=45]The Kurdish citizen believes that “the crises began to put a lot of pressure on the people; Such as the crisis of employee salaries and fuel prices.”[/size]
[size=45]What complicates the fuel price file for drivers is the low transportation fees within the city center, which amount to three thousand dinars (two dollars) for areas inside the center, and five thousand dinars outside the center, in light of the presence of huge numbers of cars working in the field of transport.[/size]
[size=45]In addition, the oil price’s association with refineries and suppliers often causes this rise, with the lifting of subsidies by the Ministry of Oil and Natural Resources, in 2016.[/size]
[size=45]partial solutions[/size]
[size=45]In an effort to reduce the crisis, the federal government in the capital, Baghdad, allocated several official stations in the city of Sulaymaniyah, selling at 650 dinars per liter, but it was unable to solve the crisis because of the long queues at those stations.[/size]
[size=45]Some drivers are forced to go to the province of Kirkuk, which is adjacent to the region, or Mosul, to refuel, as those cities sell at the price of the federal government.[/size]
[size=45]Officials attribute this rise to weak government support in Kurdistan for the fuel sector, which makes this product vulnerable to the desire of commercial companies, while the federal government supports this product with more than one billion dollars annually, to control its prices and prevent the outbreak of a fuel crisis.[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, the local authorities in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, in cooperation with the city's representatives in the Federal Parliament, are seeking to increase the governorate's share of gasoline.[/size]
[size=45]On Sunday, a member of the Iraqi parliament for the province, Briar Rashid, announced the approval of the Federal Oil Minister, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar, to increase the province's share of gasoline.[/size]
[size=45]Rashid said, in a press statement: "The Undersecretary of Oil for Fuel Distribution Affairs, Hamid Al-Zobaie, has officially approved an increase of 180,000 liters for the governorate's share of gasoline."[/size]
[size=45]He added: “After pressing for the implementation of this request, for more than three months, the Minister of Oil agreed to increase the quota,” adding: “According to the Oil Ministry, the total amount of gasoline sent from Baghdad to Sulaymaniyah will reach 540 thousand liters, and the total amount of Gasoline will soon reach Sulaymaniyah.”[/size]
[size=45]The Kurdistan region has only two plants for refining oil and producing fuel, and they are not enough for local consumption, according to officials.[/size]
[size=45]The crisis with Baghdad affects[/size]
[size=45]In light of the global rise in oil prices, the Kurdistan Region was unable to import fuel in large quantities, due to the financial distress it is going through as a result of the tension in its relationship with the federal government, which opened the door for smugglers and some traders to smuggle oil tankers towards the region, which the federal government allocates to its provinces. Especially the governorates of Nineveh and Kirkuk, which have borders with the Kurdistan Region.[/size]
[size=45]And a Kurdish official believes that “the federal government should intervene in addressing the issue of smuggling, as it is carried out from outside the region, through companies that buy to sell it within governorates, as it is commercial, and this affects the region’s share, as it contributes to price manipulation.”[/size]
[size=45]The official, who declined to be named, added to Sky News Arabia, that "the issue needs a clear and joint agreement between the two governments to avoid the current crisis and end the suffering of all residents of the region."[/size]
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