Iraq expands direct LPG sales, denies shortages

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s General Company for Gas Filling and Services announced Saturday it has adopted direct sales of liquefied petroleum gas cylinders to citizens, reaffirming that production is sufficient and denying reports of shortages.

Jassim Qassim, director of the company’s plants authority, said official prices remain regulated. “Liquefied gas cylinders (cooking gas) are available and there is no shortage,” he said. “The official price of a gas cylinder at filling stations is 5,000 dinars ($3.42), while the mobile seller sells the cylinder for 6,000 dinars ($4.11).”

Most households in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region rely on 11-kilogram LPG cylinders for cooking and water heating. The cylinders are filled at specialized facilities supplied by domestic gas production, with retail prices regulated by the government.

Qassim rejected complaints about a supply crisis. “The complaints we receive from citizens about a cooking gas cylinder crisis are incorrect,” he said, adding that reports of cylinders not being filled are also inaccurate and may stem from “a technical problem in the cylinder itself that leads to gas leakage.”

He said gas reception depots extend from southern governorates to Baghdad, noting that a pipeline beyond the capital has been out of service for years due to sabotage. “There are five large depots in the capital Baghdad, and reception can take place from any of them for loading and unloading,” he said.

Qassim said distribution in Baghdad covers Latifiyah, Rusafa, Dora, Taji and Abu Ghraib, with some sites used only in exceptional cases. He said the Dora gas plants help cover peak demand. “Normal production ranges between 6,500 and 7,000 cylinders per day, while today 19,000 cylinders were produced in Baghdad,” he said.

He said overall output exceeds demand. “The company’s actual production reaches 180,000 cylinders, while Baghdad’s need is 130,000 cylinders, in addition to 50,000 cylinders in the evening shift allocated to cover government yards,” he said, adding that direct sales were adopted to speed distribution during periods of higher demand.

Qassim said repairs have been completed on an out-of-service pipeline in Abu Ghraib and that testing is underway ahead of resuming operations.

Earlier this week, the company denied reports of shortages in Baghdad and other governorates, saying state-run plants in the capital were producing more than 160,000 cylinders per day. Officials in Najaf governorate also denied a crisis after long queues formed at government plants, saying production rose above normal levels and that crowds were driven by rumors and price differences between government plants and private agents.