Pakistan’s monthly oil sales volume touched a seven-year low in August 2018 as oil sales fall down to 1.35 million tons in August, a 46% decline in sales when compared to the corresponding month of last year, according to data released by the Oil Companies Advisory Committee on Tuesday.

The drop in oil sales during August comes about as the availability of RLNG as a substitute to furnace oil has badly affected the sales of furnace oil. Volume for furnace oil has plummeted by about 79 percent over the year reaching 191 thousand tons in August. Compared to the previous month, sales of furnace oil have decreased by 46% in August.

Lesser working days in the outgoing month amid EID festival holidays has another factor behind the drop in sales as sales of other oil products were also largely affected.

For instance, sales of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) touched a nearly four year low in August as total HSD sales volume in the outgoing month was recorded at 493 thousand tons, a 38% decline over the year before, and a 20% decline over the sales recorded in July. One of the major causes behind the decline in sales of HSD has been the 46% increase in prices of HSD over the year.

Sales of Motor Spirits similarly fell by 11% compared to August 2017, while compared to the month before i.e. July 2018, sales were down by merely 1%, the lowest month-on-month and year-on-year drop in sales when compared to HSD and Furnace Oil.

Among oil marketing companies, Attock Petroleum Limited remained the least hit by these declining sales since the company posted the lowest year-on-year drop in total oil sales of about 5% when compared to its peers in the industry. In fact, compared to the previous month, its’ oil sales increased by 6%, making it the only company to witness a sales growth when compared to the month before.

Pakistan State Oil, on the other hand, was the worst hit by dropping sales as the state-run oil giant witnessed a 66% drop in sales compared to August last year.

On a month-on-month basis, the largest drop in sales was borne by Hascol Petroleum Limited, with a 32% drop in sales when compared to sales in July 2018.

The two companies were the only two to have witnessed a decline in their stock prices today among the Oil and Gas Marketing companies listed on the KSE 100. The share price of PSO fell by Rs 0.95 or 0.28% today, while that of HASCOL fell by Rs 1.87 or 0.63%.

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