ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Gas prices across the Kurdistan Region have surged to more than four times their pre-war levels, as ongoing threats posed by regional conflict and repeated attacks on energy infrastructure in the Region disrupt supply and affect daily life.
The price of a standard 22-liter liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder, mainly used for cooking in the Kurdistan Region, has risen from 8,500 Iraqi dinars ($6.48) before the war to as high as 33,000 dinars ($25.18). While gas remains available at elevated prices, it has largely disappeared at the government-subsidized rate.
The surge follows the suspension of operations at the Khor Mor gas field in Sulaimani province, the Region’s main LPG source, amid escalating regional tensions after the United States and Israel launched an extensive air campaign against Iran in late February.
Iran and its aligned armed groups in Iraq have responded by targeting several neighboring countries, including the Kurdistan Region, where hundreds of drones and missiles have been fired at the cities of Erbil, Sulaimani and Duhok, including their energy fields.
Although Khor Mor has been targeted multiple times in the past, operations were halted this time due to security threats rather than direct damage. The suspension of gas supplies to power plants in the early weeks of the conflict sharply reduced electricity generation, leaving many residents with just five to eight hours of electricity per day.
In a joint statement issued in late February, the electricity and natural resources ministries said that “due to the exceptional circumstances and the conflict occurring in the region,” the UAE-based Dana Gas, which operates the field, “has suspended the supply of natural gas to electricity power plants.