“Oil coupon” on the table of Diyala council to address the gasoline crisis
“Oil coupon” on the table of Diyala council to address the gasoline crisis
2026-06-04
Shafaq News – Diyala
The head of the Energy Committee in the Diyala Provincial Council, Fares al-Jubouri, revealed on Thursday a plan to generalize the experience of distributing gasoline to citizens according to the “oil coupon” system, with the aim of ensuring fairness in distribution and reducing smuggling operations.
Al-Jubouri told Shafaq News Agency that “citizens in the Khanaqin and Qara Tapa areas of Diyala Governorate, in addition to other governorates, obtain gasoline through a coupon that specifies the quantities and distribution dates, as each citizen is entitled to obtain 40 liters every three days if his car is private, while taxi drivers get double this amount.”
He added that “the coupon system has been successful in the areas where it has been implemented, as it reduces smuggling operations and ensures fair distribution to citizens,” noting that “there is a trend in Diyala currently to generalize the system to all areas, with the aim of avoiding fuel crises in the future as is the case now.”
Diyala province has been suffering from a continuous fuel crisis for about three months, which has prompted thousands of residents to head towards the capital, Baghdad, to obtain gasoline, especially improved gasoline.
Earlier today, the new official spokesman for the Ministry of Oil, Salim al-Rikabi, confirmed that the ministry attaches “great importance” to the gasoline crisis file, and continues to mobilize its efforts and formations to address the situation at gas stations.
The former spokesman had previously denied the existence of any gasoline crisis, stressing that the substance was available, and attributing the congestion at stations to the high demand resulting from citizens’ movement during the Eid al-Adha holiday and the approach of the Eid al-Ghadir visit, in addition to the high temperatures and increased consumption of cooling devices in vehicles.
In a previous development, the Ministry of Oil acknowledged a shortage in gasoline supplies, after repeatedly denying it, attributing the crisis to the repercussions of events in the region and the withdrawal of a foreign company from a project in the southern refineries for security reasons, which led to a loss estimated at about 4 to 5 million liters per day of high-octane gasoline.
The ministry explained that the production rate is about 30 million liters per day, while consumption has increased to about 34 million liters per day, reaching 35 million liters on some days, which has caused a gap between production and consumption, while confirming that work continues at the maximum capacities of refineries and covering demand through managing the available stock.
shafaq.com
