Oil imports decline 48 percent in April

KARACHI: Pakistan's oil imports suffered a significant decline of 48 percent in April of the current fiscal year compared to the same month in the previous year, latest data showed on Monday.

“The massive decline in the petroleum products import was due to low economic activities and their higher prices,” said analyst Tahir Abbas at Arif Habib Limited.

The data showed that oil imports declined by 48 percent year-on-year (YoY) and 22 percent month-on-month (MoM), reaching 1,072,000 tons in April 2023, in contrast to 2,055,000 tons during April of the previous fiscal year.

Furthermore, the import of Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) witnessed a 33 percent YoY and 11 percent MoM decline, amounting to 1,816,000 tons during April 2023.

Within the same period, the imports of Mogas (motor gasoline), High-Speed Diesel (HSD), and crude oil experienced respective declines of 24 percent YoY, 57 percent YoY, and 43 percent YoY. As for the first ten months of the current fiscal year, total imports (including LNG) declined by 22 percent YoY, totaling 20,449,000 tons, while excluding LNG, the decline was 25 percent YoY, amounting to 13,464,000 tons.

Earlier this month, Pakistan's oil sector reported a massive 46 percent decline in oil sales during April of the current fiscal year compared to the same month in the last financial year. The significant drop was primarily attributed to the economic slowdown and the influx of smuggled Iranian petroleum products.

According to petroleum product sales figures, total sales reached 1.17 million tonnes in April 2023, reflecting a substantial 46 percent year-on-year dip compared to 2.18 million tonnes in April of the previous financial year. However, on a month-on-month basis, there was a 6 percent growth in petroleum product sales in April compared to March of the current financial year.

During the first ten months of the current financial year, sales of petroleum products also recorded a negative growth of 24 percent, amounting to 13.97 million tonnes, compared to 18.44 million tonnes during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

Notably, MS off-take witnessed a 24 percent year-on-year decline, reaching 0.58 million tonnes in April 2023, while High-Speed Diesel (HSD) volumes plummeted by 50 percent YoY to stand at 0.46 million tonnes during the same period.

Additionally, Furnace Oil (FO) sales volumes experienced a drastic 83 percent YoY plunge in April, closing at 0.07 million tonnes. Throughout the first ten months of this fiscal year, sales of total petroleum products depicted a 24 percent YoY drop, totaling 13.97 million tonnes, compared to 18.44 million tonnes in the same period of the previous year.

The data revealed declines in all categories, with MS, HSD, and FO off-takes amounting to 6.17 million tonnes, 5.28 million tonnes, and 1.87 million tonnes, respectively.