ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said Wednesday that it is ready to negotiate with Baghdad over the supply of subsidized fuel to the Region, asserting that the current allocation of 50,000 barrels of oil for domestic consumption is insufficient and should be more than doubled.

In a statement, the Kurdistan Region’s Acting Minister of Natural Resources Kamal Mohammed Salih addressed remarks by Iraqi Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair about the Region’s gasoline crisis, saying Baghdad is ready to provide necessary gasoline in exchange for the KRG’s handover of 50,000 barrels of oil designated for domestic use.

Salih stressed that the KRG “has always demanded fairness in the distribution of oil revenues, and by all standards, the Region's share of crude oil for domestic use should be more than double what it currently is,” per the Region’s share of the population.

He added that the designation of 50,000 barrels of oil for its domestic use was the result of a “temporary agreement, and not by our own wish and desire.”

In late July, the KRG called on the Iraqi federal government to increase the Kurdistan Region’s allocated share of crude oil from the currently allotted 50,000 barrels to 126,700 barrels, in accordance with the Region’s population, which makes up 12.67 percent of Iraq’s total population.

The minister further asserted that if the Iraqi oil ministry is ready to discuss providing “all types of fuel at subsidized prices in proportion to the Region's population,” then the KRG would be ready to negotiate “so that the true and fair share of the Kurdistan Region, like all other regions of Iraq, is determined.”

Benzine prices in the Kurdistan Region have spiked to unprecedented levels in recent weeks, despite the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) introducing pricing caps in July.

Shortages caused by the renewed regional conflict and higher costs of materials needed to produce higher qualities of fuel have resulted in reduced supply at gas stations and higher prices across the Kurdistan Region’s provinces.

In a meeting with representatives from the natural resources ministry and other relevant authorities in late July, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani called for resolving the issue “as soon as possible, in a way that takes into account the interests of the citizens of the Kurdistan Region.”

The Kurdish premier also directed exerting efforts to “prevent monopolies in the fuel sector, especially gasoline.”

Salih further commended the position of the lawmakers in the Iraqi parliament, who called for an increase in the Region’s share of crude oil for domestic use the day prior.

On Tuesday, scores of lawmakers signed a petition calling on the Iraqi government to increase Kurdistan Region’s share of crude oil or compensate the Region with benzine to address the worsening crisis.