Pakistan still hangs behind in Kerosene and Diesel production

The petroleum production in Pakistan grew overall by 3.39 per cent during the last fiscal year as compared to the corresponding year 2015-16.

Production of six petroleum products including jet fuel oil, motor spirits, high-speed diesel, furnace oil, jute batching oil and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) witnessed an increase, while kerosene oil, diesel oil, lubricating oil and solvent naphtha showed negative growth, according to official data available with APP.

The petroleum products that contributed to the positive growth included jet fuel, production of which grew by 5.01 per cent during the last fiscal year.

The output of motor spirits grew by 13.64 per cent during the period under review while there has been 4.41 per cent growth in the output of high-speed diesel.

The production of jute batching oil surged by 47.65 per cent whiles the production of LPG increased by 13.60 per cent.

Meanwhile, the production of furnace oil witnessed a 4.41 per cent increase.

The products that witnessed negative growth in production during the 12-month period included kerosene oil, the output of which declined by 12.35 per cent, while the output of diesel oil witnessed a negative growth of 17.68 per cent.

There has been 17.38 per cent decrease in production of solvent naphtha, while the lubricating oil production also witnessed 7.03 per cent downfall in production.

Similarly, the production of petroleum products — on year-on-year basis — witnessed an increase of 3.32 per cent in June when compared to the same month of last year.

The products that witnessed positive growth in production on year-on-year basis, included motor spirits, high speed diesel, diesel oil, furnace oil, jute batching oil and LPG .

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Pakistan with some other oil importers that because of an increase in global prices, their oil bills for 2017 will be almost 30 per cent higher than the last year.

The IMF places Pakistan among the countries where savings from low oil prices and reduced subsidies have allowed for increased spending on infrastructure, health care, education, and social services. But the IMF warns that it will be increasingly difficult to maintain this spending now that oil prices are expected to be higher.

In the report, the IMF placed Pakistan among the countries that have reduced fiscal deficits and improved the business climate and whose growth is supported by more public investment.

The IMF notes that such tightening could be particularly challenging for countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan and Tunisia, which will be competing for funds in international markets.

The report alerts Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt and Lebanon that a worsening of security conditions or social tensions within their borders could derail policy implementation and weaken economic activity.