KARACHI: Total POL sales dipped by 2 percent on month-on-month basis to 1.52 million tons in September 2020. The decline came as demand for major retail fuels i.e. MS (Motor Spirit) and HSD (High Speed Diesel) each fell by 8 percent on MoM. However, strong FO (Furnace Oil) demand from the power sector limited the overall monthly decline in POL sales; September 2020 saw the highest monthly sales in FO since Jul-2018.

Pakistan State Oil (PSO) lived up to its name during the first quarter of FY21 boasting 43 percent/49 percent/54 percent market share in MS/HSD/FO. Attock Petroleum Limited (APL) supplied 7 percent of the total MS and HSD. However, its share in the FO segment was a strong 19 percent.

Overall first quarter FY21 saw strong volumetric sales of 4.74 million tons, reflecting a 14 percent/8 percent QoQ/YoY increase. On a YoY basis, increases were seen across the three major contributors: MS (6 percent), HSD (7 percent) and FO (28 percent). Strong FO sales are likely to prevail in the coming months as FO-based generation continues due to gas supply issues, Ali H. Zaidi at JS Global Capital said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020