Turkish energy minister confirms Iraq requested to import gasoline from Turkey following the shutdown of Baiji oil refinery.

 Iraq has requested to fill its gasoline gap from Turkey following the shutdown of the country’s biggest oil refinery amid clashes with armed insurgents, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Saturday.

Yildiz was speaking to journalists during the opening ceremony of a geothermal power station in Aydin province in southwestern Turkey.

He said that the closure of Baiji refinery created 4,000 tons of daily gasoline need in Iraq.

Militants led by the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant, or ISIL, have extended its reach into Iraq since June 10, when they seized Iraq’s second-largest city Mosul and soon afterwards took near-complete control of the cities of Tikrit and Tal Afar. ISIL also controls parts of Anbar province in the country’s west.

Yildiz was speaking to journalists during the opening ceremony of a geothermal power station in Aydin province in southwestern Turkey.

He said that the closure of Baiji refinery created 4,000 tons of daily gasoline need in Iraq.

Militants led by the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant, or ISIL, have extended its reach into Iraq since June 10, when they seized Iraq’s second-largest city Mosul and soon afterwards took near-complete control of the cities of Tikrit and Tal Afar. ISIL also controls parts of Anbar province in the country’s west.