uscitizen
08-14-2006, 10:11 AM
Iraqi Has Worst Fuel Shortage Since '03
By RAWYA RAGEH
Associated Press Writer
August 13, 2006, 4:28 PM EDT
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Under a scorching sun, Baghdad taxi driver Sameer Abdul Razzaq wraps a wet towel around his head and waits for gasoline in a line stretching a mile. "I've been here since 6 a.m.," he said Sunday. "If I'm lucky, I'll get to the end of the line by sunset. I actually think I might end up spending the night here."
This is the capital of what should be one of the world's great oil producers, but corruption and insurgent attacks have Iraqis mired in their worst fuel shortage since Saddam Hussein was ousted, with black market gasoline costing as much as $4 a gallon.
The official price is $1 a gallon, but the fuel is often unavailable, forcing most Iraqi drivers to shell out the higher price to streetside vendors or wait in long lines at gas station.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-iraq-energy-crisis-lh1,0,2869098.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines
By RAWYA RAGEH
Associated Press Writer
August 13, 2006, 4:28 PM EDT
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Under a scorching sun, Baghdad taxi driver Sameer Abdul Razzaq wraps a wet towel around his head and waits for gasoline in a line stretching a mile. "I've been here since 6 a.m.," he said Sunday. "If I'm lucky, I'll get to the end of the line by sunset. I actually think I might end up spending the night here."
This is the capital of what should be one of the world's great oil producers, but corruption and insurgent attacks have Iraqis mired in their worst fuel shortage since Saddam Hussein was ousted, with black market gasoline costing as much as $4 a gallon.
The official price is $1 a gallon, but the fuel is often unavailable, forcing most Iraqi drivers to shell out the higher price to streetside vendors or wait in long lines at gas station.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-iraq-energy-crisis-lh1,0,2869098.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines