The oil sales in local market have declined by 24 percent to 1.418 million tons during the month of August 2010. The decrease in sales of Furnace Oil (FO) and High Speed Diesel (HSD) were amongst the major causes for the overall decline, analysts said. The sales of HSD have declined by 34 percent followed by FO sales, which were down 21 percent, Arif Zafar, an analyst at JS Global Capital said.
He said that the recent devastating floods in the country kept oil sales depressed during August 2010. FO sales which have been a primary growth determinant in recent times for the industry, witnessed a decline of 21 percent led by a supply stoppage to power plants following logistical issues caused by the floods. Moreover, with agricultural activity coming to a stand still in those areas, HSD sales fell by 34 percent. Demand for Motor Gasoline (Mogas), however, remained sticky and in fact witnessed a slight increase of one percent.
The oil sales during the first two months of FY11 stood at 3.285 million tons, down 8 percent on yearly basis. PSO sales during this period dipped by 12 percent to 2.2 million tons mainly due to its larger presence in the flood affected areas compared to growths of 17 percent and 14 percent witnessed in the sales of APL and SHELL, respectively. As a result, PSO lost its market share by 322bps to 67.2 percent. Meanwhile APL and SHELL improved their shares to 6.1 percent (up 130bps) and 14.8 percent (up 277bps), respectively.