A specialized observatory announced the end of the cooking gas cylinder crisis and full coverage of daily demand, despite the continuation of smuggling operations and black market activity, particularly by owners of informal restaurants affected by gas distribution regulation measures.

The observatory stated in a press release that the current production of liquefied petroleum gas allocated for cylinder filling amounts to approximately 5,733 tons daily, while daily consumption does not exceed 4,400 tons, noting that about 5,200 cylinders are prepared for daily use.

The statement indicated that gas receipt regulation measures revealed a large number of unregistered and unlicensed informal restaurants that resort to the black market to secure their needs, in addition to the continued smuggling of gas to the Kurdistan Region.

The observatory noted that the price of a gas cylinder in the black market within the region reaches 22,000 dinars, compared to the official price of approximately 5,000 dinars in the governorates.

The observatory called on relevant authorities to tighten supervision over private factories to curb speculation and regulate filling and distribution operations to ensure fairness in meeting demand.

These developments come after the capital and governorates recently witnessed a gas crisis due to a shortage in supply, resulting from a decline in associated oil production, while Iraq recorded for the first time production levels that enabled coverage of local gas demand in 2022.