Petrol crisis hits Iraq\\\'s Kurdish region

The shutdown of Iraq’s biggest refinery, roads blocked by fighting, and skyrocketing demand have created the worst oil crisis in years in the country’s autonomous Kurdish region. At petrol stations across the three provinces of the northern region, but particularly in and around the city of Dohuk and the Kurdish regional capital Arbil, lines extend for hours, sometimes even days. ‘I’ve been here for two hours, and I'm hoping I'll be able to fill up in about another half hour,’ said 34-year-old engineer Raad, who was queueing in Arbil. He is even lucky to have found a station with gasoline in the city. Many have shut down after running out, blocking entrances and exits with plastic chairs to keep out hopeful customers. The crisis began shortly after Sunni militants, led by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, launched a lightning offensive that has overrun major parts of five Iraqi provinces. As the militants advanced, supply routes were cut and fighting led to a shutdown of the country's largest oil refinery near the town of Baiji, south of the militant-held city of Mosul. The crisis is a ‘perfect storm of supply and demand problems,’ said Patrick Osgood, the Kurdistan bureau chief for Iraq Oil Report, according to AFP.