In May, the country’s total oil sales reached 1.39 million tonnes, marking the highest level in nine months. This represented a 7% increase compared to the previous year and a significant 26% increase from the previous month. The rise was primarily driven by an 18% annual increase in diesel sales.
However, for the first eleven months of the current fiscal year (July-May), oil sales remained lower at 13.83 million tonnes, reflecting a 9% decrease compared to the same period last year.
Diesel sales saw a notable increase of 18% to 643,000 tonnes in May, attributed to the harvesting season and a decrease in prices. There have been concerns among refinery operators and oil marketing companies regarding the impact of smuggled Iranian oil products on their sales.
Petrol sales in May witnessed a 1% year-on-year increase and a 14% month-on-month increase, reaching 607,000 tonnes. However, the July-May sales remained down by 5% compared to the previous year, totaling 6.4 million tonnes.
Furnace oil (FO) sales in May experienced a 29% year-on-year decline to 69,000 tonnes due to reduced power generation from FO-based power plants.
The government successfully achieved the petroleum development levy (PDL) revenue collection target for the fiscal year, surpassing the set target of Rs869 billion by July-May, reaching Rs907 billion. It is anticipated that the government could achieve a revenue collection of Rs990 billion to Rs1 trillion for the entire fiscal year, considering the current average monthly collection of Rs80-85 billion.
