SINGAPORE: Pakistan State Oil is set to import 325,000 tonnes of gasoline and jet fuel for delivery over December to March, about 28 per cent less than it had initially requested, industry sources said on Wednesday.

PSO will likely buy six cargoes of about 50,000 tonnes each of 87-octane gasoline for delivery over Jan. 15 to March 15 and a 25,000-tonne jet fuel cargo for delivery on Dec. 20-31.

PetroChina had the lowest offers for four of the six gasoline cargoes at premiums ranging from $72.20 to $84.40 a tonne and Trafigura had the lowest offers for the other two cargoes at a premium of $79.88 a tonne.

PetroChina will likely load the cargoes from Fujairah where it has leased storage for gasoline recently, an industry source said.

For jet fuel, Glencore had the lowest offer of $4.73 a barrel above Middle East quotes.

The tender closed on Dec. 3 and is valid until Dec. 11.

This is the first time the company is seeking 50,000-tonne lot sizes for gasoline instead of its usual 35,000-tonne cargo sizes, industry sources said.

The company has increased tankage space for gasoline in its Kemari port in Karachi by 15,000 tonnes to satisfy increased domestic demand.

Following are details of the offers: PRODUCT                                DELIVERY PERIOD  SELLERS                      PRICE* Gasoline 87RON Jan 15-Mar 15       PetroChina                                      $72.20/tonne (50KT each)     Jan 15-Mar 15           PetroChina                                       $72.20/tonne Jan 15-Mar 15                                         PetroChina                                       $78.80/tonne Jan 15-Mar 15                                         PetroChina                                       $84.40/tonne Jan 15-Mar 15                                          Trafigura                                          $79.88/tonne Jan 15-Mar 15                                          Trafigura                                          $79.88/tonne Jet Fuel       Dec 20-31                           Glencore                                           $4.73/barrel

*prices are premiums to Middle East benchmark quotes and are on a cost-and-freight (C&f) basis