Fox refinery owner says gasoline prices in Sulaymaniyah to fall within two months

SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq — The owner of Fox Petroleum Products Refinery in Sulaymaniyah said gasoline prices in the city are expected to drop within the next two months, as a fuel crisis affecting the Kurdistan Region reflects a wider global problem rather than a local one. Serdar Haji Khalid, who runs Fox Refinery, said the halt of smuggled gasoline shipments from various parts of Iraq to the Kurdistan Region had pushed prices higher. During the summer months, daily gasoline demand in the region runs at roughly seven million liters, while current supply stands at about three million liters, according to figures cited by the refinery. Fox Refinery, located in the Arapet area, operates with a daily processing capacity of 6,500 barrels, producing gasoline, liquefied gas and benzine. Behman Abdulqadir, spokesperson for the Sulaymaniyah Fuel Station Owners, said any price decline would depend on broader improvements in conditions across the region. Kemal Mohammed, acting minister of natural resources for the Kurdistan Regional Government, said the federal government sends only 50,000 barrels of fuel per day to the region, a level he identified as the main cause of the recent price increases. No further details on additional supply measures were immediately available.