Oil sales drop 7 per cent
Oil consumption drops seven per cent during July to September on a yearly basis.
KARACHI:
Oil consumption has dropped seven per cent during July to September on a yearly basis as demand dipped following the floods.
JS research team revised down growth forecast for sales to one per cent from the earlier five per cent for fiscal year 2011 on the back of lower-than-anticipated volumes. Oil sales were 2 per cent lower in September against the previous month as seasonal Ramazan slowdown effect kicked in, said JS Global Capital analyst Syed Atif Zafar.
Shutdown of some power plants due to inundation, in particular AES Lal Pir thermal power station and improvement in hydel power generation to approximately 6,000 megawatts (MW) were key factors behind an 8 per cent drop in furnace oil sales to 2.2 million tons during the first quarter of fiscal year 2011.
However, with AES expected to resume operations by November-end and hydel generation expected to shrink in winter, furnace oil demand is expected to pick up, Zafar said in the company research report.
Agricultural activity - primary determinant for diesel sales - has come to near-standstill with rural landscape affected by the floods, resultantly diesel sales were down 14 per cent to 1.5 million tons.
Reduced price differential with compressed natural gas (CNG) has boosted the motor fuel product’s sales by 17 per cent to 548,000 tons on a yearly basis. Primarily driven by exports to Afghanistan, sales of jet fuel were up 1 per cent to 343,000 tons. However, recent disruptions in Nato supplies may hamper sales for the product in coming months, said Zafar.
Pakistan State Oil (PSO) being the market leader and having the most prominent presence in the flood-affected areas lost out in terms of market share to Attock Petroleum Limited and Shell. PSO’s sales were down 12 per cent while APL and Shell volumes increased 18 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 8th, 2010.
Oil consumption has dropped seven per cent during July to September on a yearly basis as demand dipped following the floods.
JS research team revised down growth forecast for sales to one per cent from the earlier five per cent for fiscal year 2011 on the back of lower-than-anticipated volumes. Oil sales were 2 per cent lower in September against the previous month as seasonal Ramazan slowdown effect kicked in, said JS Global Capital analyst Syed Atif Zafar.
Shutdown of some power plants due to inundation, in particular AES Lal Pir thermal power station and improvement in hydel power generation to approximately 6,000 megawatts (MW) were key factors behind an 8 per cent drop in furnace oil sales to 2.2 million tons during the first quarter of fiscal year 2011.
However, with AES expected to resume operations by November-end and hydel generation expected to shrink in winter, furnace oil demand is expected to pick up, Zafar said in the company research report.
Agricultural activity - primary determinant for diesel sales - has come to near-standstill with rural landscape affected by the floods, resultantly diesel sales were down 14 per cent to 1.5 million tons.
Reduced price differential with compressed natural gas (CNG) has boosted the motor fuel product’s sales by 17 per cent to 548,000 tons on a yearly basis. Primarily driven by exports to Afghanistan, sales of jet fuel were up 1 per cent to 343,000 tons. However, recent disruptions in Nato supplies may hamper sales for the product in coming months, said Zafar.
Pakistan State Oil (PSO) being the market leader and having the most prominent presence in the flood-affected areas lost out in terms of market share to Attock Petroleum Limited and Shell. PSO’s sales were down 12 per cent while APL and Shell volumes increased 18 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 8th, 2010.