KARACHI: Pakistan’s energy imports, including petroleum products and LNG decreased by 20 percent in the first nine months of the current financial year on the back of reduced demand.
According to the energy imports data, oil imports excluding LNG plunged by 23 percent in the months under review, whereas the import of petroleum products were down by 31 percent during the first nine months of this fiscal.
During the month of March, the import of petroleum products declined by 14 percent compared to the same month of last financial year, whereas these imports were up by 46 percent compared to February this fiscal.
Energy imports including LNG were down by 15 percent in March this fiscal compared to March of last fiscal, whereas these were up by 10 percent compared to February this fiscal. Product wise import of petroleum products showed that import of high speed diesel (HSD) was down by 37 percent in 9MFY23 whereas these were down by 52 percent in March compared to March of last fiscal.
The import of petrol decreased by 22 percent in nine months and was up by 11 percent in March compared to the nine months and March of last financial year respectively. Crude oil import was down by 11 percent in the nine months of this fiscal, which also declined by 16 percent in March this fiscal.
LNG imports registered negative growth of 15 percent in 9MFY23 and also decreased by eight percent in March this fiscal compared to March of last fiscal. The decrease in imports of energy products has been attributed to low consumption of petroleum products due to their high prices and access to smuggling from Iran.
Country’s oil sales decreased by 9.0 percent on month-on-month basis to 1.11 million tonnes in March 2023 mainly due to lower demand of FO for power generation and slowdown in overall economic activity. This is the lowest monthly sales number in 35 months, since February to April 2020. The sales of furnace oil and HSD declined by 28 percent and 17 percent MoM respectively, while the sales of MS slightly increased by 1.0 percent MoM.
On year-on-year basis, oil sales recorded 39 percent decline in March 2023 due to fall in all major petroleum products; MS down 28 percent, HSD down 43 percent and FO down 70 percent. The low sales of petroleum products from formal channels has caused problems for the oil sector. The sector is especially feeling heat from smuggled Iranian oil.