http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4787207.stm

Iraq Has Worst Fuel Shortage Since '03
August 13, 2006 3:28 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 stations.

The shortage affects other petroleum products too. A cylinder of cooking gas costs about $18 on the black market - double the price a few months ago.

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The irony is especially bitter in a country that sits atop the world's third-largest proven petroleum reserves. Iraq's estimated 115 billion barrels are exceeded in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries only by Saudi Arabia and Iran.

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