Petroleum Sales Up 32% in April Due to Higher Car Sales, Lower Smuggling

Pakistan’s Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) sector posted a robust 32 percent year-on-year growth in petroleum sales during April 2025, reaching 1.46 million tons, driven by lower product prices, crackdown on smuggling, and higher automobile sales. High-Speed Diesel (HSD) sales rose by 33 percent year-on-year to 0.62 million tons in April 2025, up from 0.47 million tons in the same period last year. Motor Spirit (MS) sales climbed 24 percent to 0.66 million tons, while Furnace Oil (FO) volumes surged threefold to 0.08 million tons amid increased reliance on FO-based power generation. Arif Habib Limited attributed the growth to: On a month-on-month basis, total petroleum sales jumped 20 percent in April 2025 due to the onset of the harvesting season, improving economic activity, and higher demand for FO in power generation with the start of summer. MS, HSD, and FO dispatches increased by 14 percent, 28 percent, and 55 percent month-on-month, respectively. In cumulative terms, total sales for the first ten months of FY2024-25 (10MFY25) stood at 13.22 million tons, marking a 6 percent year-on-year increase from 12.44 million tons in the same period last year. Product-wise, MS and HSD showed growth, while FO sales declined. The volumes were recorded at 6.17 million tons for MS, 5.60 million tons for HSD, and 0.60 million tons for FO. Pakistan State Oil (PSO) recorded a 12 percent year-on-year increase in April 2025 sales, reaching 0.62 million tons. Its MS, HSD, and FO sales rose by 11 percent, 15 percent, and 15 percent, respectively. Attock Petroleum Limited (APL) saw a 28 percent growth in offtake to 0.13 million tons. WAFI (SHEL) and HASCOL reported year-on-year increases of 23 percent and 76 percent, respectively. Over 10MFY25, however, cumulative sales showed a decline: HASCOL down 3 percent, PSO down 6 percent, APL down 7 percent, and WAFI down 25 percent year-on-year. PSO’s market share shrank by 5.6 percentage points to 44.5 percent in 10MFY25 from 50.1 percent last year. APL’s share dropped 1.3 percentage points to 8.8 percent, while WAFI’s remained stable at 7.2 percent. HASCOL’s share increased to 3.4 percent from 2.5 percent in the same period last year. Gas and Oil Pakistan Ltd (GO) made the most significant gains, with market share rising to 10.2 percent from 3.1 percent. Meanwhile, other OMCs collectively saw their share fall by 1.2 percentage points to 25.9 percent. The Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) collection for 10MFY25 stood at approximately Rs. 926 billion, averaging Rs. 93 billion per month. The Federal Government has set an annual PDL target of Rs. 1,281 billion (Rs. 107 billion per month) for FY2024-25.