Petroleum sales up 9.2pc MoM in October

KARACHI: The country’s petroleum sales registered a significant 9.2 per cent month-on-month (MoM) increase, reaching 1.5 million tonnes in October of the current fiscal year, driven mainly by higher high-speed diesel (HSD) demand with the onset of the Rabi sowing season.

Petrol offtake fell 3.8 per cent MoM to 0.66 million tonnes due to higher retail prices. HSD sales, however, rose sharply by 20.7 per cent MoM to 0.71 million tonnes, supported by increased agricultural activity during the Rabi season.

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, total oil sales excluding furnace oil (FO) increased by 2.3 per cent to 1.47 million tonnes, compared with 1.44 million tonnes in the same month last year. HSD volumes rose 4.1 per cent YoY in October 2025, largely attributed to the effective curtailment of smuggled petroleum products from Iran and improved farm economics.

However, overall petroleum volumes declined by 1.6 per cent YoY, reflecting the impact of higher prices, which averaged Rs266 per litre in October 2025, up 7.6 per cent YoY. FO sales plunged 52 per cent YoY due to reduced reliance on FO-based power generation.

During the first four months of the current fiscal year, total petroleum product sales excluding FO rose 8.3 per cent YoY to 5.3 million tonnes, compared with 4.9 million tonnes in the same period last year. Product-wise, petrol and HSD volumes stood at 2.63 million tonnes and 2.34 million tonnes, respectively, whereas FO sales declined to 0.075 million tonnes, down 72 per cent YoY, following the imposition of a Rs77 per litre petroleum development levy (PDL) in the current budget.

Pakistan State Oil’s (PSO) sales dropped 7.6 per cent YoY to 0.64 million tonnes in October 2025. Petrol and HSD offtake fell 10.9 per cent and 7.1 percent YoY, respectively, while FO offtake edged up by 0.2 per cent YoY. Meanwhile, Attock Petroleum Limited’s (APL) offtake decreased by 0.1 per cent YoY to 0.12 million tonnes.

WAFI dispatches surged 13.7 per cent YoY on a low base, while Hascol’s offtake declined by 8.7 per cent YoY.

PSO’s market share in the first four months of the fiscal year contracted by 2.7 percentage points to 42.1 per cent, compared with 44.8 per cent in the same period last year. APL’s market share also slipped by 0.4 percentage points to 8.4 per cent. In contrast, WAFI’s market share improved to 8.4 percent in July-October, while Hascol’s share remained steady at 3.2 per cent.The market share of Gas and Oil Pakistan Ltd (GO) rose sharply by 3.7 percentage points to 12.9 per cent in the review period, compared with 9.2 per cent a year earlier.