Iraq's Missan province out of kerosene

AMARA, Iraq, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Iraq's Missan province says it has run out of kerosene after recent disruptions in Iraq's refinery and electricity sectors, which has hampered fuel stocks.

Accidental and malicious fires in refineries around the country and along the power grid, as well as reductions in fuel and power supplies from neighboring Turkey and Kuwait, have hurt the once gaining sectors.

"The province has been complaining about a substantial shortfall in kerosene since the beginning of this year," Missan province's oil sector spokesman Naeem Zahran told the Voices of Iraq news agency.

"The province's 5 million liter reserve of kerosene has been distributed to local residents on Jan. 20, 2008," he added. "Since then the province has only received 120,000 liters that have also been distributed to residents as a second batch." He said an old provincial refinery can only satisfy about 25 percent of local demand.

Iraq has only half its needed kerosene, including imports, according to the U.S. State Department's Iraq Weekly Status Report.

Over the past few weeks power outages have hampered Iraq's refineries -- and the lack of fuel from refineries has forced power shutoffs. Electricity from Turkey has been shut because of a lack of fuel, and fuel from Kuwait slowed. Fires at Iraq's largest and second largest refineries, Baiji in the north and Basra in the south, also took their toll on the facilities.

And fires related to either attacks or explosions from smugglers attempting to bore into pipelines also put a monkey wrench into the issue.