Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq is facing a growing shortfall between diesel production and consumption as demand surges during the summer peak, the Oil Ministry's spokesperson told Shafaq News on Tuesday.

Salim Al-Kinani said the higher consumption is being driven by power generation plants, which are burning more diesel as supplies of imported natural gas decline. The government has also doubled diesel allocations for neighborhood generators, he added, while vehicle demand has climbed ahead of the Arbaeen pilgrimage.

To close the shortfall, the ministry is running refineries at maximum capacity and working to raise diesel output. Al-Kinani pointed out that the Council of Ministers recently approved additional imports to cover the deficit and keep fuel flowing to power stations and private generators without interruption.

The shortage produced long queues at fuel stations earlier on Tuesday. Generator owners also complained that deteriorating fuel quality has caused repeated technical faults, disrupting operations through the summer.

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