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Baghdad petrol queues persist

“The ministry has put an average of 10 million litres a day on the market in July — that figure was in the region of six or seven million litres in March or April,” Oil Minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum said.

But “queues at the petrol stations persist” despite the rise in supply and extra controls over black market trade, Ulum told reporters.

“Residents are buying the fuel to operate their electric generators,” Ulum said.

He again laid out measures undertaken by the ministry to stabilise the situation like extending opening hours of petrol stations, and building another 150 stations throughout the country.

The idea of allowing private sector imports of petroleum products was also under consideration, the minister said.

Ulum said Iraqi oil exports and revenue had reached their highest levels since March 2003, the date of the US-led invasion of the country.

Crude exports rose nearly 15 per cent between June and July 2005, reaching 1.6 million barrels a day compared with 1.44 million barrels the month before.

Oil export revenues reached 2.5 billion dollars in July, Ulum said.