Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad attributed the shortage to the sabotage of a pipeline bringing crude oil from the southern fields to a refinery in Baghdad. He gave no details and would not say how long the shortage would last.

The fragility of the country's oil-distribution system means that shortages appear from time to time. This week's crunch seems worse than usual.

Although unrelated, the long lines followed Iraq's announcement Monday that it was opening six major oil fields and two natural-gas fields to development by foreign firms, which could lead to the biggest outside stake in Iraq's oil industry since it was nationalized 30 years ago.

The government hopes these contracts will boost oil production 60 percent from levels that already are the highest since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Increased production would provide additional resources to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure and deliver services to the public.

But the gas lines snaking nearly two miles down the streets of Baghdad yesterday show it will take a lot more than money to translate record oil prices and increased production into concrete improvements in the quality of life for Iraqis.

Iraq's oil minister, Hussain al-Shahristani, has said the country expects to reap revenues of $70 billion by year's end if world prices remain high. The price of oil exceeded $143 a barrel for the first time ever Monday and shows few signs of falling.

But sectarian strife, rampant corruption, inadequate refineries, and inefficient government institutions limit the public revenues that could have a positive impact on Iraqi citizens such as Habib Hadi, who lined up for gas at 4 a.m. yesterday.

After waiting more than four hours, he said he finally edged close to the gas station and "saw a catastrophe."

"The gas pump was not working because of the lack of electricity," Hadi said.

Fuel and electricity shortages increase hardships in Iraq during the summer, when temperatures soar well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, making life uncomfortable without air-conditioning.

The official price of a liter of gasoline is the equivalent of 38 cents, or $1.44 a gallon. But the black-market price, which has risen significantly in recent days, can be three times that.

Many residents in eastern Baghdad who lined up for fuel could do little more than stand outside their cars in the sweltering heat, waiting for the lines to move.

A vendor rode his bicycle cart by a group of frustrated Iraqis, as several drivers pushed their cars toward a gas station they couldn't even see, they were so far away.

Falah Taweel, a gas-station attendant scrambling to serve endless customers, attributed the long waits to fuel shortages, rising summer demand and electricity problems.

"As official distributors, we are in a very bad situation. We can't meet the demand," Taweel said. Frustrated drivers yelled at one another.

An Iraqi's simple demand for a tank of gasoline was in sharp contrast to the grand plans announced Monday on the opening of the major oil and gas fields to foreign firms, a bid to boost production by 1.5 million barrels per day.

Shahristani named 35 foreign companies that would be eligible to bid for the development contracts, including seven from the United States.

The number of Iraqi refugees admitted into the United States continued to rise last month, crossing the halfway point toward the Bush administration's goal of 12,000 by the end of September.

The State Department said yesterday that 1,721 Iraqi refugees

had entered the country last month, up from 1,141 in May.

June's admissions brought the number of Iraqi refugees accepted to 6,463 since the current budget year began

Oct. 1.

Iraq's main Sunni Muslim political bloc

is on the verge of rejoining the Shiite-led government after a nearly yearlong boycott, a step widely seen as vital to reconciling the nation's warring factions.

Sunni leaders said yesterday that they

had delivered names

to fill five cabinet posts and the position of deputy prime minister

to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The bloc withdrew from the government in August over demands that included the release of Sunni detainees from Iraq's prisons and constitutional reforms.

Now, Sunni leaders say the government has done enough to address their core conditions, including passing an amnesty law that has freed thousands of Sunni detainees this year and subduing Shiite militias.

- Inquirer wire services