Pakistan Refineries Output Jumps 20% in January, Driven by High-Margin HSD
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
Pakistan refineries production increases 19.59 percent during the month of January 2025 with notable gains in high-margin products like high-speed diesel (HSD) and declines in certain low-margin products like furnace oil.
HSD, a high-margin product, recorded a 26.34% year-on-year increase, reaching 522,174 thousand liters, while furnace oil, a low-margin product, saw a 19.74% rise, with production totaling 211,842 thousand liters. Meanwhile, kerosene oil experienced an exceptional surge of 70.46%, producing 13,170 thousand liters, while motor spirits output rose by 15.37% to 305,262 thousand liters. However, certain products saw sharp declines, with diesel oil (n.o.s.) plummeting 54.01%, petroleum products (n.o.s.) dropping 38.18%, and jute batching oil falling 69.03%. On the other hand, solvent naphtha and LPG witnessed robust growth, increasing by 32.09% and 26.08%, respectively.
Looking at the cumulative production from July 2024 to January 2025, HSD production stood at 3,315,892 thousand liters, marking a 6.34% increase, while furnace oil output declined slightly by 0.96% to 1,543,749 thousand liters. Jet fuel oil saw a 12.65% decrease, totaling 412,381 thousand liters, whereas kerosene oil surged 38.18% to 72,568 thousand liters. Motor spirits remained relatively stable, slipping 0.76% to 1,916,866 thousand liters. Other notable changes included a 50.92% rise in jute batching oil, a 31.86% increase in solvent naphtha, and a 3.80% decline in LPG production, which totaled 481,051 thousand liters. Petroleum products (n.o.s.) experienced a sharp 24.79% decline, reflecting shifting demand patterns.
Overall, the refinery sector demonstrated strong growth in high-margin products such as HSD, while low-margin products like furnace oil showed a modest increase. The data underscores ongoing shifts in product demand, with refiners likely focusing more on high-margin fuels to enhance profitability while balancing production of essential lower-margin products.
Reference Link:- https://augaf.com/pakistan-refinery-output-jumps-20-in-january-driven-by-high-margin-hsd/
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
