Islamabad May 1 2025: Attock Refinery’s production declined during the first nine months of this financial year due to reduced output from Exploration and Production companies, which was driven by high SNGPL system pressure resulting from increased LNG imports.
Attock Refinery supplied 1,213 thousand Metric Tons of various petroleum products while operating at about 71 percent of the capacity during the nine month period ended March 31, 2025 compared with last year 1,266 thousand Metric Tons at 75 percent capacity.
The decline in capacity utilization was primarily due to scheduled turnaround at two major oilfields and local community strike at some of the oilfields. Additionally, certain oilfields were compelled to curtail gas production in order to manage high SNGPL system pressure due to LNG imports. Consequently, production of crude oil from the related oilfields was also reduced. During the period under review, the Company also faced challenges related to uplifting of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) mainly due to smuggling. The Company has taken up this matter with Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and other regulatory bodies for taking appropriate remedial steps. Demand for Furnace Fuel Oil also remained depressed during this period. The Company overcame this issue by exporting Furnace Fuel Oil.
During the nine months period ended March 31, 2025, the Company earned profit after tax of PKR 7,698 million from refinery operations (March 31, 2024: PKR 20,795 million). Non-refinery income during this period was PKR 897 million (March 31, 2024: PKR 888 million). Accordingly, overall profit after taxation was PKR 8,595 million with earning per share of PKR 80.62 (March 31, 2024: Profit of PKR 21,683 million with earning per share of PKR 203.36).
During the nine months period under review, the spread between prices of products and crude oil remained low as compared to corresponding period of previous year. Further, the Company’s operating cost increased due to non-admissibility of input sales tax as a result of amendments made in the Sales Tax Act, 1990 whereby key petroleum products have been exempted from sales tax. As prices of petroleum products are regulated by the Government, therefore, refineries could not pass on
the burden of sales tax borne during the production process. Additionally, there was reduction in crude oil supply from some of the oilfields due to planned turnarounds and forced reduction in production as a result of high SNGPL system gas pressures. These factors have mainly contributed towards lower profit during the period under review.
