The sale of total petroleum products in Pakistan clocked in at 1.28 million tons in December, an increase of 3% on a year-on-year basis.
“The growth in dispatches is attributable to a jump in HSD [high-speed diesel] sales by 12% YoY,” said Iqbal Javaid, senior research analyst at Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in a report on Thursday.
This increase in HSD offtake comes on account of higher demand driven by a decline in the retail price, down 9% YoY, and curtailment of smuggled diesel from Iran, he added.
The offtake of petrol (MS) decreased by 1% YoY in December 2024, settling at 0.57 million tons.
Sale of petroleum products jumps 20% in September amid higher demand
On the other hand, HSD dispatches stood at 0.57 million tons in December 2024, as compared to 0.51 million tons in SPLY.
Meanwhile, Furnace Oil (FO) sale volumes reduced by 48% YoY, reaching 0.04 million tons, as compared to 0.08 million tons in SPLY.
The decline is due to lower demand for FO-based power generation, said Javaid.
On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, POL products’ offtake dwindled by 19% during December, as compared to 1.58 million tons in November.
The MoM decrease was “owing to reduced mobility due to severe winter weather, and higher HSD demand in November for Rabi season”, said Javaid.
During 1HFY25, total sales of petroleum products went up by 4% YoY to 8.03 million tons vis-à-vis 7.68 million tons in SPLY.
Product-wise data shows growth in MS and HSD, while sales of FO depicted a decline; the volumetric sales of MS, HSD, and FO clocked in at 3.75 million tons, 3.46 million tons, and 0.35 million tons, respectively.
Company-wise, the sales of PSO declined by 4% YoY, clocking in at 0.57 million tons in December.
Similarly, the offtake of Attock Petroleum Limited (APL) also plummeted by 14% YoY to 0.11 million tons. Whereas, the dispatches of SHEL and HASCOL improved by 5% and 59% YoY, respectively, clocking in at 0.09 million tons and 0.04 million tons in December.
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