Petroleum sales hit 25-month high on price cuts, anti-smuggling measures

KARACHI: Petroleum product sales surged by 15 per cent to reach a 25-month high of 1.58 million tonnes in November FY25, compared to 1.37 million tonnes in the same month last year.

The sharp increase is attributed to heightened demand following a crackdown on smuggled petroleum products from Iran and a year-on-year (YoY) reduction in petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices by 12 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.

During November FY25, petrol offtake rose 17 per cent YoY, settling at 0.67 million tonnes, while HSD sales jumped 21 per cent YoY to 0.79 million tonnes, according to data released on Tuesday. In contrast, furnace oil (FO) sales plummeted by 55 per cent YoY to 0.04 million tonnes due to reduced demand for FO-based power generation.

On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, overall petroleum sales grew by 6.0 per cent, driven by higher HSD demand during the peak harvesting season and the cessation of smuggled fuel supplies. While MS (petrol) sales remained unchanged from the previous month, HSD offtake rose by 15 per cent MoM, and FO dispatches contracted by 36 per cent.

In the first five months of FY25, total petroleum product sales increased by 5.0 per cent YoY to 6.75 million tonnes, up from 6.45 million tonnes during the same period last year. Product-wise, sales of MS and HSD grew, while FO volumes declined. MS sales totalled 3.18 million tonnes, HSD reached 2.89 million tonnes, and FO sales stood at 0.31 million tonnes.

Data for listed oil marketing companies (OMCs) showed mixed results. For Pakistan State Oil (PSO): total offtake rose by 12 per cent YoY to 0.80 million tonnes in November FY25; MS and HSD sales grew by 15 per cent and 16 per cent YoY, respectively, while FO volumes plunged by 83 per cent YoY.

Shell Pakistan, Attock Petroleum Limited (APL), and HASCOL reported an improved in total offtake improved by 12 per cent, 7.0 per cent and 6.0 per cent YoY, respectively. The data further added that for the first five months of FY25: PSO and APL sales declined by 4.0 per cent and 10 per cent YoY, respectively. Shell Pakistan and HASCOL recorded increases of 6.0 per cent and 15 per cent YoY, respectively.

PSO’s market share fell by 4.3 per cent to 46.2 per cent during the period, compared to 50.5 per cent in the same months of FY24. APL’s market share also declined by 1.5 per cent to 8.6 per cent YoY. Conversely, Shell and HASCOL saw their shares rise to 7.2 per cent and 3.0 per cent, respectively. The market share of other OMCs jumped by 5.4 per cent to 35.1 per cent in July–November FY25. The robust sales of MS and HSD boosted petroleum development levy (PDL) collection to Rs110 billion in November FY25, marking a 19 per cent YoY and 7.0 per cent MoM increase. PDL collection for the first five months of FY25 stood at Rs464 billion, up 16 per cent YoY.