In August 2023, Pakistan witnessed a total sales volume of petroleum products amounting to 1.41 million tons. This marked an 8.0 percent decrease compared to the same period last year. The primary reason for this decline was a substantial 64 percent year-on-year reduction in sales of Furnace Oil (FO). This drop in FO sales was attributed to a reduced reliance on FO-based power generation, thanks to the introduction of new local coal-based power plants.
Conversely, Motor Spirit (MS) and High-Speed Diesel (HSD) sales showed an increase of 5.0 percent and 11 percent year-on-year in August 2023. This growth can be attributed to the absence of heavy rainfall compared to the previous year.
Looking at the month-on-month figures, there was a 4.0 percent increase in petroleum sales during August 2023, partly due to a pricing trend that favored fortnightly increases.
Breaking down the product-wise data, MS sales grew by 2.0 percent month-on-month, totaling 0.67 million tons. Similarly, HSD sales saw an 11 percent month-on-month increase, reaching 0.55 million tons. In contrast, FO sales plummeted by 18 percent month-on-month to 0.12 million tons due to the aforementioned reasons.
For the first two months of fiscal year 2024, total petroleum product sales declined by 7.0 percent year-on-year, amounting to 2.76 million tons. In terms of specific products, MS and HSD sales volumes increased, while FO saw a significant decline. The sales figures for MS, HSD, and FO during the first two months of FY24 were 1.33 million tons, 1.04 million tons, and 0.26 million tons, respectively.
Analyzing individual companies, it was observed that Pakistan State Oil’s (PSO) off-take decreased by 8.0 percent year-on-year in August 2023, primarily due to an 86 percent year-on-year plunge in FO sales. Meanwhile, MS and HSD reported healthy growth rates of 15 percent and 32 percent year-on-year, respectively. Similarly, sales of Attock Petroleum Limited (APL) and Shell Pakistan Limited (SHEL) decreased by 2.0 percent and 11 percent year-on-year, respectively. On the other hand, HASCOL’s off-take witnessed a significant 27 percent year-on-year increase.
In terms of cumulative figures for the first two months of FY24, petroleum sales of PSO, SHEL, and APL declined by 10 percent, 9.0 percent, and 5.0 percent year-on-year, respectively. Conversely, HASCOL’s off-take showed remarkable growth of 60 percent year-on-year during the same period.
PSO’s market share during the first two months of FY24 declined to 50.9 percent from 52.3 percent in the same period in FY23. SHEL’s market share also dropped to 6.96 percent year-on-year in the first two months of FY24 from 7.10 percent in the same period the previous year. Meanwhile, the market share of APL and HASCOL in the first two months of FY24 increased to 10.2 percent (compared to 10.0 percent in the same period last year) and 2.9 percent (up from 1.7 percent in the same period last year), respectively. The market share of other Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) remained stable at 29.0 percent in the first two months of FY24.
