KARACHI (DNA) -Pakistan’s leading oil refining company, Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (“Byco”), reported financial results for the nine months ending on 31 March 2021 today. Byco’s gross revenues dropped to Rs. 150.1 billion from Rs. 192.1 billion posted in the same period last year, due to pandemic-induced drop in oil prices in 2020. Due to price risk mitigating measures implemented during this period and improved inventory management, the gross profits more than quadrupled to Rs. 5.47 billion from Rs. 1.19 billion the previous year. Operating profit rose to Rs. 4.04 billion from Rs. 0.24 billion in 2020, including the impact of a modest increase in operating expenses. Byco showed a solid net profit of Rs. 2.17 billion, or Rs. 0.41 earnings per share, in the first nine months of the current financial year from a net loss of Rs. 2.67 billion, or Rs. 0.50 loss per share, last year.

International oil prices have risen sharply in the current fiscal year, with Brent crude increasing from $45 a barrel in early July 2020 to above $60 a barrel by the end of March 2021, as a result of the ongoing global economic recovery. Pakistan’s business environment improved, while strong remittance inflows strengthened the Pakistani Rupee’s exchange rate against the US Dollar, and domestic consumption of oil products stabilized during the period. These factors provided some respite to the battered domestic oil industry. Byco’s CEO, Mr Amir Abbassciy, remarked: “We are engaged in discussions with the Government, expecting their support to the petroleum refining sector so that we can upgrade our plants and achieve sustainable margins”.

Due to the US sanctions on Iran, Pakistan does not formally purchase petroleum products from the neighboring country. However the Iranian oil makes its way to the Pakistani markets through different channels including smuggling as well as mis-declaration wherein the Iranian origin oil is branded as that of other regional countries.

According to the documents available with this correspondent, Byco Petroleum Company has been found involved in bringing the Iranian Crude Oil to the country through mis-declaration by changing Iranian origin shipments documents with that of other countries in the region.

It may be mentioned here that Byco has been accused of importing oil from Iran illegally. The National Assembly’s  Standing Committee on Finance was informed by the officials concerned the other day that Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited imported six consignments declared to be 726,564 barrels of ‘Omani  Blend Crude Oil’ in a vessel last year through Gaddani port. The importer filed six goods declarations and paid the Customs Duty amounting to Rs 246.188 million.   As fifty percent of the cargo was discharged from the vessels and the remaining was still on board, the Model Customs Collectorate (MCC) Gwadar received an information regarding likelihood of mis-declaration of actual description and/or import origin in respect of the cargo. Subsequently, samples were drawn from the cargo by Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP).  The test samples of already discharged ship confirmed the origin of oil as that of Iranian. 

On this, a contravention case has been framed against Byco Petroleum under Customs Act 1969. Currently, the case is sub judice before the Customs Appellate Tribunal Karachi.