Pakistan State Oil drops use of additives in diesel, petrol

Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Managing Director Naeem Yahya Mir said the company has stopped using additives in the company’s petroleum products, while other oil marketing companies (OMCS) like Caltex and Shell continue to do so. A senior official at the state-owned company said that the decision of PSO has led to a decrease in its share in the open market of Pakistan.
 
Use of additives in petroleum products is mandatory in the United States, India, and all the countries in Europe. Saudi Arabia is reportedly planning to mandate the use of fuel additives soon. Additives are meant to keep deposits from building up in the engine, and to keep the fuel injection system at near optimum level of performance.
 
A PSO spokesperson said that “The decision to add any additive is entirely the company’s own and based on both technical and commercial reasons. Additionally, independent research have not supported any such additions in petrol, which is why the product is imported and exported on a global scale without addition of any such additives. Furthermore, no specification of petrol in the world incorporates mandatory addition of such detergents,” he added.
“Regarding changes in market share of PSO after the stoppage of fuel additives.” The spokesperson added, “There are various market variables and forces that affect the market share and sales volume of any brand. In this case, the impression that the stoppage of fuel additives has resulted in decrease of market share is incorrect as PSO’s share in motor gasoline during Aug-Oct 2012 increased to 50.6% in comparison to 48.6% during the same period last year.” (January 27, 2013)