IslamabadThe sale of the component of the high octane mixture (Hobc) in Pakistan to a record level in February 2025, with the sale of about 33,000 metric tons. This increase was driven by the price discounts of oil marketing companies (OMCS), making Hobc an attractive alternative to gasoline MS relatively cheaper.
According to the OPTIMUS Capital Management Consulting Capital (OCM), Hobc sales were only 15,000 metric tons in September 2024. Since then, sales have continued to rise steadily, and reached their peak at a record level in February 2025.
Zian Babar Khan, an OCM analyst, indicated that February witnessed a large gap between Hobc and MS Petrol, which contributed to Hobc sales. As of March 4, 2025, Hobc (Euro5 Octane+) was 260.35 per liter, while MS Petrol (Euro5 Premier) was priced at 255.63 rupees per liter in Karachi, which narrows the price gap to 5 rupees per liter. This is a sharp contrast with February 2024, when the price difference reached about 18 rupees per liter.
Hobc is commonly used by luxury and imported cars because of its benefits in improving miles and engine performance. Unlike regular gasoline, Hobc is not organized by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), and its price is determined by OMCS, which can vary between the various gasoline pumps within the city.
Despite the increase in Hobc sales, sales of total petroleum products, including gasoline and diesel, decreased by 18 % on the month of February 2025, and decreased to 1.14 million tons. This decrease is due to the high prices of petroleum products, in addition to less days in February compared to January.
According to local research homes, the total oil consumption in January 2025 amounted to 1.38 million tons. Analysts from Arif Habib Limited (AHL) explained that the high prices of gasoline and diesel, as well as low power -based energy generation, led to a decrease in demand.
In February, the engine price of the engine (MS/gasoline) increased by 2.23 rupees per liter to 256.3 rupees, while high -speed diesel (HSD) witnessed an increase of 6.3 rupees per liter to 267.0 rupees, due to the high prices of Brent crude and the adjustment of the exchange rate.
The collapse of sales data showed that gasoline sales decreased by 11 % to 0.56 million tons, while high -speed diesel sales decreased by 29 % to 0.43 million tons. The sales of oven oil decreased by 9 % to 0.05 million tons compared to January.
On an annual basis, the demand for petroleum products improved by 2 % in February 2025 compared to the same month in 2024. The increase in sales has been attributed to the return of the demand for MS due to low gasoline prices, restrictions on smuggling from Iran, a jump in car sales, and the high demand for power -based power generation.
Despite the total decrease in sales, the demand for HSD decreased by 4 % compared to February 2024, most likely due to the decrease in the demand from the agricultural sector after the decrease in rain during the Rabi harvest. On the other hand, MS Dispatches witnessed an increase of 2 %, while sales of oven oil grew by 7 % on an annual basis in February.
Cutting, the total sales of petroleum products increased for the first eight months of the fiscal year 2024-25 by 4 %, and rose to 10.55 million tons compared to 10.18 million tons during the same period last year. High -speed gasoline and diesel sales witnessed growth, while sales of oven oil decreased.
It is expected that the positive growth in the consumption of gasoline and diesel will continue, as the country recovers from the recent economic challenges and efforts to achieve stability in the energy sector in achieving results.
