Hascol Petroleum

Last updated
Hascol Petroleum
Company type Public
PSX:  HASCOL
Industry Petroleum
Founded2001;24 years ago (2001)
FounderMumtaz Hassan Khan
Headquarters Karachi, Pakistan
Key people
  • Sir James Carter Alan Duncan (Chairman)
  • Aqeel Ahmed Khan (CEO)
ProductsOil
RevenueDecrease2.svgRs. 71.16 billion (US$250 million) [1]  (2022)
Decrease2.svgRs. -14.06 billion (US$−49 million) [1]  (2022)
Decrease2.svgRs. -14.44 billion (US$−50 million) [1]  (2022)
Website hascol.com

Hascol Petroleum Limited is a Pakistani oil marketing company based in Karachi. It is majority-owned by Vitol.

Contents

Hascol holds the distribution rights of German lubricating oil Fuchs in Pakistan. [2]

History

Hascol Petroleum was founded in 2001 by Mumtaz Hasan Khan. [2] [3] In 2005, it received oil marketing license from the government. [4]

In 2014, Hascol was listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange. [4]

International trader Vitol bought a 15 percent stake in April 2016, lifted it to 25 percent in 2017 and signalled an intention to reach 41 percent in 2019, pairing its equity with promised investment in terminals and working capital. [5] [6] In the same period, Hascol secured exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute Fuchs lubricants, began building a blending plant at Port Qasim and briefly became Pakistan's second-largest OMC by market share in 2017. [3] [7]

The growth unravelled in 2019 when mounting foreign-exchange losses and alleged "false purchase orders" forced restatement of prior-year accounts; net losses ballooned to ₨12 billion in 2019 and ₨23 billion in 2020. [8] In July 2021 the Federal Investigation Agency opened a criminal probe into ₨54.5 billion of bank borrowings, issuing notices to nine lenders over suspected fabrication of trade-finance documents. [9] Later, a scandal surfaced that Hascol had falsified its books and financial statements in 2019, [10] this, coupled with mounting losses resulted in the company's share price tumbling from over Rs. 300 in 2018 to about Rs. 5 in 2021, and the Pakistan Stock Exchange declaring the company to be in default. [11] The company had its assets frozen by the High Court of Sindh upon request of the company's creditors. [12]

Operations

As of mid-2025 Hascol markets petrol, diesel, fuel oil, Jet A-1, LPG and automotive lubricants through more than 400 service stations spanning all provinces, supplied from company-owned depots and hospitality arrangements with larger OMCs. [5]

Hascol's supply chain is anchored by bulk import facilities at Karachi’s Keamari and the 200,000-tonne Port Qasim storage terminal operated by joint-venture subsidiary Hascol Terminals, a joint venture with Vitol's global tank business (VTTI). [13] Inland, Hascol owns depots at Mahmoodkot and Daulatpur, and has pipeline access to northern areas. [3]

Joint ventures

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Hascol Annual Report 2022" (PDF). hascol.com. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Hascol Petroleum Limited". May 30, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hussain, Dilawar (18 May 2015). "A new player surfaces on the oil marketing sector". Dawn . Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  4. 1 2 "What is Hascol hiding?". Profit by Pakistan Today. April 25, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Temizer, Murat (30 June 2017). "Dutch Vitol acquires 10% of Pakistan-based Hascol". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  6. "Vitol decides to increase financial holding in Hascol". Profit by Pakistan Today. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  7. "Hascol to invest $20 million to set up new plant". Daily Times. February 18, 2017.
  8. Hussain, Bilal (23 September 2019). "The extraordinary rise and spectacular crash of Hascol Petroleum". Profit by Pakistan Today. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  9. "ہیسکول پیٹرولیم، قرضوں میں ڈوبنے کی تحقیقات میں 9 بینکوں کو نوٹسز" [Hascol Petroleum: nine banks served notices in debt probe]. Daily Jang (in Urdu). 15 July 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  10. Alam, Kazim (2021-06-22). "Hascol may redo balance sheets after 'false purchase orders' surface". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  11. "Hascol excluded from list of eligible securities: NCCPL". Daily Times. 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  12. Tanoli, Ishaq (2021-10-15). "SHC freezes Hascol's assets on Mena Energy application". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  13. 1 2 "Hascol to form terminal joint venture with Vitol". F&L Asia. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  14. "Vitol, Hascol, form LNG joint venture in Pakistan". Offshore Energy. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2025.