Iraq’s LPG vehicle program reaches nearly 95,000 conversions

BAGHDAD — Nearly 95,000 vehicles across Iraq have been fitted with liquefied petroleum gas systems under a government program to expand gas use in transport, cut reliance on gasoline and lower running costs and emissions, the Oil Ministry says.

Anmar Ali Hussein, director general of the State Company for Gas Filling and Services, said the drive was part of the ministry’s plan to widen the vehicle LPG program and give motorists an alternative fuel, and that it was being carried out to technical safety standards. Converting from gasoline to LPG lowers operating costs and cuts emissions, he said.

Conversions are done at 27 workshops in Baghdad and the governorates, Hussein said, with the company working to raise their capacity to meet demand. Iraq now has 171 LPG refueling outlets nationwide, run by the state gas company and the Oil Products Distribution Company, and more stations and workshops are under construction.

The figure marks a sharp rise from April, when the ministry put the number of converted vehicles at 74,500 — a gain of roughly 20,000 in about three months, though the conversion network grew by just one workshop, from 26 to 27, over the same period.