KARACHI: Saudi Arabia’s Asyad Group is looking to expand its investments in Pakistan, including through the government’s upcoming airport privatization process, as its local energy subsidiary Wafi Energy Pakistan continues to grow its retail and storage network despite disruptions to global energy markets.
The group, which acquired control of Shell Pakistan in 2024, is exploring new opportunities in the country’s privatization program as well as the financial sector, Asyad Group Chief Executive Officer Ghassan Ahmed Amodi told Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb at a meeting on Thursday, according to the Finance Division.
Amodi also expressed interest in participating in the upcoming airport privatization process and said the group was working to bring together Saudi and international partners with relevant technical expertise.
“Mr. Amodi reaffirmed Asyad Group’s commitment to Pakistan as a long-term investment destination and expressed satisfaction with its experience in the country,” the Finance Division said in a statement. “He highlighted Pakistan’s importance within the Group’s investment portfolio outside Saudi Arabia and shared plans to further expand its presence in Pakistan.”
The discussions came the same day Wafi Energy Pakistan, which is controlled by Asyad Group, reported a nearly 21 percent rise in first-half profit from a year earlier despite posting a loss in the second quarter.
Wafi reported profit after tax of Rs1.52 billion ($5.4 million) for the six months ended June 30, compared with Rs1.26 billion ($4.5 million) in the same period last year.
The result included a Rs641 million ($2.3 million) loss after tax in the second quarter, after the company posted a Rs2.16 billion ($7.8 million) profit in the first three months of the year.
Global oil markets have faced severe disruption since Feb. 28 when the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran began, restricting energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a route that normally carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
Pakistan is heavily dependent on imported petroleum products and crude oil, making it particularly exposed to disruptions and price volatility in Middle Eastern supply routes.
“This has been a demanding half for the industry, with disruption to global supply routes and continued volatility in costs,” Wafi Energy Pakistan Chief Executive Officer Zubair Shaikh said in a separate statement.
“Our performance reflects disciplined investment and execution and focus on supply security,” he continued. “Our aim has been simple: keep supply moving, provide customers with reliable fuels and lubricants, and keep investing in long term value creation for shareholders and the country.”
Wafi expanded its network during the first half of the year, adding 38 Shell retail sites, 18 Shell Select stores and two Shell Recharge electric-vehicle facilities, while upgrading eight existing retail sites.
The company also recently inaugurated a 7.4-million-liter motor gasoline storage tank at its Tarru Jabba terminal in Nowshera in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, saying the additional capacity would help strengthen fuel supplies in the region.
Wafi operates more than 680 Shell-branded retail sites in Pakistan as well as oil terminals and a lubricants blending plant.
It plans to further expand its Shell-branded retail network across northern Pakistan, the company said.
