Sales of total petroleum products clocked in at 1.33 million tons in December 2022, a decline of over 11% on a year-on-year basis amid higher prices, slowdown in economic activity, decline in automobile sales, and lower Furnace Oil (FO)-based power generation, said experts.

Sale of MS (Petrol) depicted a fall of 11% YoY, amounting to 0.62 million tons in December 2022. Volume of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) nosedived by 15% YoY, settling at 0.52 million in December 2022.

Meanwhile, FO sales plunged by 3% YoY in December 2022, clocking in at 0.12 million tons, data released by Arif Habib Limited (AHL) showed on Tuesday.

Nov POL products’ sales down 12pc to 1.55m tons YoY

On a month-on-month basis, offtake witnessed a drop of 13.6% during December 2022 due to the aforementioned reasons. Volumes of MS, HSD, and FO registered a fall of 8%, 22% and 10% MoM, respectively.

During the first six months of FY23, sales of total petroleum products plummeted by 19% YoY to 9.03 million tons compared to 11.10 million tons in the same period last year.

Product-wise data showed a decline in all categories; the offtake of MS, HSD and FO settled at 3.83 million tons, 3.36 million tons and 1.45 million tons, respectively.

Company-wise analysis shows that PSO’s offtake depicted a drop of 9% YoY in December 2022 which was majorly contributed by a decrease in sales of FO by 93% YoY, while MS sales reported a decline of 10% YoY. HSD sales of PSO remained stable.

Pakistan's power cost and generation declines significantly in Nov

Similarly, sales of APL (Attock Petroleum Limited) and SHEL (Shell Pakistan Limited) plunged by 16% and 18% YoY respectively, due to a fall in sales of HSD and MS. HASCOL (Hascol Petroleum Limited) witnessed a decline of 16% YoY amid lower MS and HSD sales, reported Ismail Iqbal Securities.

During the first six months of FY23, PSO witnessed an increase in its market share by 2% to 49% compared to 47% in the same period last fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the market share of APL and SHEL remained stable at 8% and 9% YoY, respectively. HASCOL’s market share in the first six months of FY23 improved to 2%, the brokerage house added.