ISLAMABAD: The government-run Pakistan State Oil (PSO) lost its overall market share by about eight per cent to private oil marketing companies (OMCs) during 2013-15.

According to an official presentation, PSO’s fuel market share plummeted to 56.8pc on June 30 from 61.8pc a year ago and 64pc in July 2013. Its share in the lubricants market also fell from around 30pc in June 2014 to about 26pc in July this year.

Many private OMCs have been making their way into the oil market through fresh infrastructure over the past few years. The most unfortunate event in PSO’s history was a recent ‘forced’ takeover of around a dozen of its running locations by a private OMC on the Lahore-Islamabad Motor­way as the state-run PSO and the ministry of petroleum looked on, said a senior PSO official.

“This was not only the loss of share but also loss of face,” he said.

Soon after coming to power in May 2013, the PML-N government showed the door to then managing director of PSO Naeem Yahya Mir and since then the company is being run on an ad hoc basis without a permanent head.

In the middle of the petrol crisis in January this year, the government suspended almost the entire hierarchy of the company along with its board of management. The board is yet to be completed.

Sheikh Imranul Haque of the Engro Elengy Terminal, selected for the post of managing director over three months ago, is likely to join PSO by Sept 1, according to petroleum ministry officials.

The Attock Petroleum and Shell Pakistan control 10pc market share each, followed by 7pc and 6pc overall shares of Total-Parco and Hescol, respectively.

The PSO’s total receivables stood at Rs239 billion as of August 21, including Rs124bn outstanding against government-owned power companies, Rs53bn against Hubco, and Rs14bn each against Kapco and PIA. On top of that, a fresh avenue of receivables has emerged in the form of LNG business where PSO has outstanding bills of over Rs21bn.

Official statistics suggest that while the PSO has maintained or slightly improved its market share in petrol over the past year, its share in high speed diesel has dropped from 53.4pc to 50pc between July 2014 and June 2015. Another major revenue source of furnace oil supply has significantly shrunk over the past 12 months as its share fell from 73.5pc in June 2014 to 66.8pc in June this year.

On the long-term level, PSO’s high speed diesel market share has come down to 53pc from 75pc in 1995, while furnace oil share has dropped to 72pc from 85pc. Its share in lube market has dropped to 32pc from 70pc in about 20 years.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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