Pakistan’s February base oil imports fall

Pakistan’s base oil imports fell in February after surging the previous month to the highest in more than two years.

Base oil imports of 19,690t in February fell by more than half from more than 46,000t the previous month, provisional customs data showed.

Even with the slowdown, total imports of more than 66,500t in the first two months of the year exceeded shipments of less than 51,000t during the last two months of 2021.

They were also higher than imports of 56,000t during the same two-month period at the beginning of last year.

The rise in imports in the first two months of the year coincided with a drop in the country’s base oil production in January to an eight-month low.

Domestic base oils output improved in February to more typical levels.

The higher import volumes also coincided with signs of an improvement in Pakistan’s lubricating oil demand, especially for transport lubricants.

Group II heavy-grade base oils typically account for a larger share of Pakistan’s base oil imports than they do in other markets.

A continuation of that trend at the beginning of this year would have helped to absorb some of the surplus supplies of heavy-grade base oils that the Asia-Pacific market faced late last year.