Islamabad, 19 August 2024 (TDI): According to the Pakistan Petroleum Information Service (PPIS), the country’s daily crude oil production dropped from 94,500 barrels in 2015 to 70,500 barrels in 2024.
The amount of gas produced also decreased significantly at that time, falling by 900 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD).
Pakistan produced 4,016 million standard cubic feet of gas per day in 2015. By 2024, that amount had dropped to 3,116 million standard cubic feet, indicating a 4.4% yearly fall. In the meantime, oil production increased marginally by 1.5% annually to reach 70,536 barrels per day in the fiscal year 2024.
Over the period of the fiscal year 2023–24, which concluded on June 30, the government is projected to have earned an overdue Rs1 trillion in petroleum development levy (PDL) from the sale of oil products, despite the fact that demand for petroleum oil products had fallen to an 18-year low of 15.3 million tons.
The primary cause of the record decline in demand continues to be the collection of PDL at Rs60 a liter from the sale of gasoline and diesel, together with the complete pass-through of higher global energy prices to local customers.
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Furthermore, businesses and commercial consumers were deterred by the general economic downturn, weak industrial production, rising inflation, and high interest rates, while household demand for commuting decreased.
Yet, the market for petroleum products rebounded in the final month of FY24, reaching 1.45 million tons, a 19-month high.
Due to the sharp decline in energy costs and the need to satisfy the spike in demand for electricity during the sweltering summer, more costly furnace oil-powered power plants were used.
