Peregraf - The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources has issued a new administrative order setting maximum retail prices for all three grades of petrol sold in the Kurdistan Region, days after an earlier directive addressed only regular-grade fuel. Under the new order, commercially sold improved-grade petrol, known locally as Muhassan and sitting between regular and premium fuel, may not exceed 1,000 Iraqi dinars (IQD), or roughly 0.66 US dollars (USD), per liter. Super grade, the premium fuel required by many newer vehicles, may not exceed 1,200 dinars (about 0.79 USD) per liter, at any filling station in the region.
The order builds on an earlier directive dated July 20, 2026, which set the price of government-subsidized regular petrol at 750 dinars (about 0.50 USD) per liter and capped commercially sold regular petrol at 850 dinars (about 0.56 USD) per liter. The new order, dated July 22, 2026, restates those two figures and adds the fresh ceilings for improved-grade and Super petrol, saying all three fuel qualities must also meet the ministry's own technical specifications. The order states it takes effect immediately from its date of issuance.
The document is signed by Kamal Mohammed Saleh, the KRG's acting minister of natural resources, and copied to the office of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, who is continuing in the role in a caretaker capacity pending formation of a new cabinet following the October 2024 parliamentary election, as well as to the Council of Ministers and other relevant KRG directorates for enforcement.
Even with the new ceilings, fuel prices in the Kurdistan Region remain well above those in the rest of Iraq, where regular petrol sells for 450 dinars (about 0.30 USD) per liter under the federal pricing system administered by Baghdad. The gap weighs heavily on household budgets: average monthly family income in the Kurdistan Region is commonly estimated at around 400 USD, meaning fuel costs consume a proportionally larger share of earnings than in federal Iraq, where the same volume of petrol costs roughly 40 percent less. Kurdish opposition politicians have repeatedly claimed, without presenting independently verified evidence, that refineries linked to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), namely Lanaz and KAR, profit from the region's 50,000 barrel-per-day crude allocation instead of passing savings on to consumers. The KRG has not publicly responded to these specific allegations.
Fuel and electricity prices in the region had already come under pressure after Pearl Petroleum, the Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum-led consortium that operates the Khor Mor gas field, suspended production in mid-July, citing security threats. The suspension followed a wave of drone attacks on Erbil and other targets across the Kurdistan Region linked to the broader US-Israel war on Iran, which began on February 28, 2026. Pearl Petroleum said the shutdown could cut the Kurdistan Region's power generation capacity by as much as 3,000 megawatts, forcing longer daily outages.
The pricing dispute has also drawn the attention of the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad. A seven-member investigative committee was formed this month after a joint request from lawmakers with the Halwest bloc (National Stance Movement), the Kurdistan Islamic Union, Komal, and New Generation Movement (NGM) MP Kawa Abdulqadir. Halwest MP Ghalib Mohammed said the committee's goal is to compel the KRG to direct the 50,000-barrel crude allocation toward Kurdistan Region residents directly, arguing they are entitled to the same 450-dinar (about 0.30 USD) price paid elsewhere in Iraq. The KRG has not commented publicly on the committee's formation.