ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq is set to receive the final shipment of gasoline from abroad following a recent government ban on fuel import as the country’s production has reached self-sufficiency level, a senior Iraqi official told Rudaw on Monday.
Abdulsahib Bazoon, spokesperson for the federal oil ministry, stated that "one of the vessels has arrived and the other is en route,” noting that the contracts for these shipments were signed before the government’s decision to halt gasoline imports.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani decided earlier this month to ban fuel import.
Bazoon added that “after the vessel arrives, gasoline imports will be stopped.”
In response to social media posts about the import of gasoline despite the ban, Iraq’s ministry of oil confirmed in a statement on Sunday that a ship carrying 50,000 cubic meters of gasoline had docked at Iraqi ports, adding that another ship is expected to arrive “in the coming days.
“The ministry emphasizes that these two shipments cannot be canceled or rescheduled at this stage to avoid incurring substantial financial penalties related to delaying or preventing the tankers from docking,” stated the federal ministry.