SINGAPORE: Pakist­an’s annual fuel oil exp­orts hit an all-time high this year and are expected to trend steady to higher next year, as higher dom­estic taxes deterred purchases while power plants are switching to cleaner alternatives, industry sources said.

The uptick in Pakistan’s fuel oil exports has added to supply in Asia, weighing further on prices in a market that is already well-supplied, traders and analysts said.

Fuel oil exports from Pakistan reached a fresh high this year, shipping data from Kpler and LSEG showed.

Exports so far this year have breached 1.4 million tonnes (about 8.9m barrels), up over 16pc from the full-year volume in 2024, the data from Kpler showed, with most of these exports ending up in Sou­th­­east Asia and the Mid­dle East. LSEG data sho­w­­ed exports at 1.33m tonnes so far in 2025, up from 1.11m tonnes last year.

The cargoes were most­­ly high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) and added mainly to marine fuel supply, while some volumes went to refineries as feedstock, market sources said.

“Pakistan primarily ex­­ports HSFO to Asia which have been seeing an exc­e­­ss in supply post-summer season and have depressed cracks in the region,” said Valerie Panopio, vice president for oil commodity markets at Rystad Energy.

Pakistani refiners sold more fuel oil via tenders this year after the government raised taxes for domestic fuel oil consumption, while power generators gravitate towards alternatives such as coal and solar.

The leading Pakistan fuel oil exporter was Pak-Arab Refinery, according to traders, while other ex­­p­orters included Cnergyi­­co, Attock Refinery, Natio­nal Refinery and Pakistan Refinery.

Cnergyico, which is the country’s largest oil refiner, has said it aims to boost exports. The company exported about 247,000 tonnes of fuel oil in 2024-25, its vice-chairman Usama Qureshi said.

Mr Qureshi added that he expects at least 50pc growth this fiscal year, supported by increased use of light-sweet crude that lifted its output of very low sulphur fuel oil.

The company has partnered up with global trading house Vitol to supply more low-sulphur marine fuel from Pakistani ports.

“The trend in furnace oil exports is only going to increase going forward in 2026,” said Syed Nazir Abbas Zaidi, secretary general of Pakistan’s oil companies advisory council. “Fuel oil is no longer viable in electricity generation, and no longer profitable to sell in the domestic market, following the last budget,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2025