Production of petroleum products grows 13.74pc in 1st quarter

ISLAMABAD: The production of petroleum products increased by 13.74 percent during the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year, compared to the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year.

The petroleum products that contributed in positive growth included kerosene oil, output of which grew by 7.61 percent during the period under review, according to latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The production of motor spirits grew by 16.28 percent, high speed diesel by 12.43 percent, diesel oil by 80.47 percent while the output of furnace oil witnessed growth of 16.64 percent during the period under review.

Similarly, the output of jute batching oil increased by 62.88 percent, solvent Naptha by 16.90 percent while the production of LPG increased by 38.70 percent, according to the data.

The petroleum products that witnessed negative growth in production included jet fuel, output of which decreased by 2.55 percent while the production of lubricating oil declined by 13.05 percent.

Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the production of petroleum products increased by 8.50 percent during the month of September 2017 against the production of same month of last year.

The products that witnessed positive growth included motor spirits (13.49 percent), high speed diesel (8.8 percent), diesel oil (135.6 percent), furnace oil (12.5 percent), jute batching oil (1400 percent), salvant Naptha (4.19 percent) while the production of LPG increased by 6.93 percent.

On the other hand, the production of jet fuel oil during the month decreased by 3.8 percent, kerosene oil by 1.1 per cent while the production of lubricating oil decreased by 24.56 percent.

It is pertinent to mention here that the overall Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) of the country witnessed an impressive growth of 8.36 percent during the first quarter of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The country’s LSMI Quantum Index Numbers (QIM) was recorded at 133.15 points during July-September (2017-18) against 122.87 points during July-September (2016-17), showing growth of over 8 per cent, according to the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The highest growth of 6.44 percent was witnessed in the indices monitored by Ministry of Industries, followed by 0.99 percent growth in the products monitored by Provincial Bureaus of Statistics (PBOS) and 0.93 growth in the indices of Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC).