Gas Crisis Recedes.. Black Market Benefits from Informal Restaurants

An economic observatory reported that the cooking gas cylinder crisis has begun to recede, with near-complete coverage of daily demand, despite the continuation of smuggling and black market activity, particularly by owners of informal restaurants affected by gas regulation measures.

The observatory stated in an official report that daily production of liquefied petroleum gas allocated for cylinder filling amounts to approximately 5,733 tons, while daily consumption reaches 4,400 tons, confirming the preparation of about 5,200 cylinders for daily use.

It explained that gas receipt regulation measures revealed a large number of unregistered and unlicensed informal restaurants that resort to the black market to secure their needs, in addition to the continued smuggling of gas to the Kurdistan Region.

It noted that the price of a gas cylinder in the black market within the region reaches 22,000 dinars, compared to the official price of approximately 5,000 dinars in the governorates.

It called for tightening supervision over private factories to curb speculation and regulate filling and distribution operations to ensure fairness in meeting demand.

The capital and governorates recently witnessed a gas crisis due to a shortage in supply, resulting from declining associated oil production, while Iraq recorded for the first time production levels that enabled coverage of local gas demand in 2022.