Kirkuk gasoline puts cars and their owners in the hands of mechanics and repair shops
Every day, dozens of car owners in Kirkuk Governorate suffer a great shock that puts them in the hands of mechanics, due to malfunctions affecting their cars, and they blame the cause on the type of gasoline provided by petroleum products in the governorate.
Citizens and car drivers complain about the poor quality of fuel (gasoline), which causes many damages and breakdowns to cars, especially during the summer, with the high temperatures. As for improved and super gasoline, it is good, but it is not suitable for people with limited incomes and taxi drivers, which pushes them to use regular gasoline or that poor local product.
Drivers complaints
The car owner, Samir Abdullah, stands in front of the car repair shop in the Karaj al-Shamal area in central Kirkuk, saying to Shafak News Agency, “My car is new and I am surprised by the recurring malfunctions in it. Within one week, I replace the parts that have broken down, especially what is known in the local market as the (vit pump), which is a filter that connects the gasoline passing towards the car engine. Each malfunction is repaired for about $60 to $100. Within one week, the malfunction affected the car and I lost about $200, and this is just for the materials.”
He added, “When the mechanic opens the place where the fault occurred, he finds dirty gasoline more than once, and this causes faults in the car as well as financial losses for the car owners. After replacing the damaged parts, I replaced the parts and put in improved gasoline. The car stabilized and returned to work well, but when the type of gasoline was changed to regular, the faults returned and we returned with it to the replacement workshop. Now I carry spare parts with me in the car, and wherever my car breaks down, I repair the fault after I gained experience in disassembling and replacing this part.”
A Toyota car owner named Ahmed Abbas told Shafaq News Agency, “The car is part of our daily life and the poor quality of gasoline has turned it into hell. Every day we visit the mechanic and put about $60 in his pocket for every breakdown and to replace the fuse pump because this part is considered the engine and the brain of the car and any poor quality of gasoline means a breakdown in the car, which is the heart of the car.”
He stressed that “the gasoline in the stations is of poor quality and petroleum products must be investigated and the reasons for the poor quality of gasoline in Kirkuk stations must be known. This does not mean that all gasoline is not good, as improved gasoline is of good quality, but the prices force the citizen and car owner to receive the regular gasoline product and malfunctions recur from time to time and the reason is gasoline.”
A workshop owner in the industrial area of the northern garage, named Murad Muhammad, told Shafaq News Agency, “The frequent breakdowns that affect cars, especially the fuse pump, are due to gasoline and its poor quality. Dozens of car owners visit us daily and complain about the breakdowns, and I am like a doctor who diagnoses the case and then gives the treatment. We determine the cause of the breakdowns, open the car, take out the fuse pump, empty the gasoline in it, and see the dirt that appears to the eye. This is evidence that gasoline is the primary cause of breakdowns.”
He added, “The reasons for the poor quality of gasoline are primarily the product not conforming to the specifications produced in the refineries. In addition, there are stations that have not updated the old tanks that are decades old, and because they are underground, they become calcified and dirty, and then they move from the tank to the cars, causing them to malfunction, especially the fuse pump.”
He points out that “my workshop specializes in treating this disease, and one job costs between 30 and 60 dollars. If the breakdown is repeated, we help the car owner and do not take any labor fees from him. We only take the fees for the materials we change in the car so that the car is as it was and he returns it to us in a peaceful manner. Our work is known for its accuracy, honesty, and strong accomplishment, far from fraud and deception.”
Economic expert Ali Khalil told Shafaq News Agency, “Enhanced or high-octane gasoline is very different from regular gasoline, and it is natural that this affects the quality of the car’s performance,” noting that “the cost of high-octane gasoline is 1,200 dinars, so the government mixes it for economic reasons.”
He added, “Naphtha is one of the intermediate petroleum products obtained in the oil refinery. It is not considered a pure substance, but rather a mixture of several different fractions. Naphtha types are divided into two sections: light naphtha and heavy naphtha.”
Three stages of filtration
A responsible source in the Northern Products Department told Shafaq News Agency, “The gasoline product in Kirkuk goes through three stages of refining, starting with the refineries, warehouses and products, and then transporting it via tankers to the distribution stations. It is prepared from three refineries, which are Baiji refineries, Qaywan refineries and Dora refineries. We have the inspection and product monitoring department, where if the product does not conform to the specifications, the tankers are returned to the place from which they came.”
The source indicated that “there are three types of gasoline that entered Iraq after the operation of the Karbala refinery, which is Super gasoline with an octane rating of 95, and we gave it the green color so that the citizen can distinguish it from the other types.”
“The octane rating of improved gasoline ranges from 95 to 90, while the octane rating of regular gasoline is 85. There is a project to use liquid gas in vehicles, where the octane rating of liquid gas is 110, which is more than super, which is 95,” he added, noting that “the process of using liquid gas is more comfortable, less expensive, and less maintenance, and citizens should install systems to use liquid gas in their vehicles, which will reduce the costs of use and the quality of the product will be very high.”
The source concluded by saying, “Kirkuk today receives 1.6 million liters of gasoline per day, and the product conforms to specifications.”
Shafaq.com