Pakistan’s fuel oil exports neared 600,000 tons in the first half of the financial year 2023-24 due to poor local demand and stagnated electricity production in recent months.
Exports surged to almost 600,000 tons of fuel oil during July-December FY24, exceeding the entire stock of fuel oil exports of 277,000 tons in FY23, local media reported earlier today.
Before the massive demand slump of last year, the surplus stock of fuel oil was largely used for power generation. Output from fuel oil has fallen rapidly in recent times with power producers shifting to liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renewable energy sources.
Local refineries produced a large amount of fuel oil in the first half of FY24 and were forced to export it to maintain their operations without disrupting the manufacture of diesel and petrol for domestic consumption.
In FY23, HSD/MS made up 43/24 percent of total POL output, respectively, while fuel oil contributed 23 percent. During this period, fuel oil exports were mostly driven by demand from Sri Lanka. In the current financial year, the majority of export destinations are in Africa and the Middle East.
