Petroleum product sales declined 3.0 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 1.26 million tonnes in August 2026, primarily due to a sharp increase in motor gasoline (MS) and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices, according to industry data. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, oil marketing companies' (OMCs) overall sales volumes fell 16 per cent during the month. Excluding furnace oil (FO), OMC volumes declined 9.3 per cent YoY and 19 per cent MoM.
The decline came amid substantially higher fuel prices. MS prices rose Rs70.06 per litre YoY and Rs10.01 per litre MoM, while HSD prices increased Rs99.73 per litre YoY and Rs11.61 per litre MoM. MS offtake fell 9.0 per cent MoM to 0.67 million tonnes in August, while HSD sales plunged 32 per cent to 0.42 million tonnes.
On a YoY basis, HSD volumes declined 19 per cent, while MS sales decreased 1.0 per cent. In contrast, FO sales rose 26 per cent MoM and surged 429 per cent YoY to approximately 0.17 million tonnes. The increase is attributed to higher electricity demand and greater reliance on FO-based power generation amid disruptions in RLNG supplies.
Cumulatively, petroleum product sales increased 10 per cent YoY to 2.77 million tonnes during the first two months of FY27, compared with 2.52 million tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year. During July-August FY27, MS and HSD volumes stood at 1.39 million tonnes and 1.05 million tonnes, respectively, while FO sales rose to 0.18 million tonnes.Meanwhile, the government has set a Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) collection target of Rs1.68 trillion for FY27, representing an 11.9 per cent increase over the revised FY26 target of Rs1.5 trillion and 14.2 per cent above the original FY26 budget target of Rs1.47 trillion.
Based on estimates, the government collected around Rs245 billion in PDL during the first two months of FY27.Attock Petroleum Limited (APL) posted an 8.0 per cent YoY increase in petroleum product sales in August 2026, while Pakistan State Oil (PSO), the country's largest oil marketing company, recorded a sharp MoM decline amid weakness in furnace oil sales. APL recorded sales of 121,000 tonnes in August, up 8.0 per cent from the same month last year, although volumes declined 5.0 per cent from July.
The company's market share, however, increased by 119 basis points to 9.61 per cent during the month. PSO reported sales of 570,000 tonnes in August, reflecting a 4.0 per cent YoY increase but a significant 19 per cent MoM decline. Its market share fell by 131 basis points to 45.21 per cent.
The decline in PSO's market share is primarily attributed to a sharp reduction in furnace oil sales. The company sold only 23 tonnes of furnace oil in August, significantly affecting its overall market position.