Wafi Energy Pakistan Limited, doing business as Shell, is a Pakistani oil marketing company based in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. It is a subsidiary of Wafi Energy Holding, a

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

oil and gas A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geologi ...

company. Previously, it was a part of

Shell plc Shell plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and second ...

History

Wafi Energy Pakistan's origins date back to 1899 with the establishment of Asiatic Petroleum, a joint venture between Shell Transport Company and Royal Dutch Petroleum Company, which initiated

kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...

oil imports from

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

into the region. A significant historical marker from this period is a storage tank from 1898. The company's documented presence in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

began in 1903 when The Shell Transport & Trading Company and the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company formed a partnership to supply

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

to Asia. In 1928, Royal Dutch Shell merged its marketing interests in India with those of Burmah Oil Company Limited, creating the Burmah Shell Oil Storage & Distribution Company of India. After Pakistan gained independence in 1947, the company was renamed as Burmah Shell Oil Distribution Company of Pakistan. During the 1950s, Shell Pakistan, then known as Burmah Shell, employed notable strategies for promoting kerosene oil, featuring popular singers such as

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and range of voice ...

in their

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

s. In 1965, Shell sold half of its stake in Burmah Shell operating in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

. Later, a new company was formed for East Pakistan named Burmah Eastern Limited which was listed on the stock exchange and the majority of its shareholding was held by Pakistanis. In 1970, it was listed on the

Karachi Stock Exchange The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), founded as Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), is a stock exchange based in Karachi, Pakistan. PSX was classified by MSCI as a Frontier markets, frontier market on 8 September 2021. Pakistan Stock Exchange was fou ...

and the company was renamed as Pakistan Burmah Shell (PBS) Limited. The Shell and Burmah Groups retained a 49 percent share, split evenly while National Investment Trust, a state-owned fund, owned a majority stake. In February 1993, during a period of

economic liberalization Economic liberalization, or economic liberalisation, is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...

, Burmah divested from PBS, allowing Shell Petroleum to increase its stake to 51 percent. Over time, Shell Petroleum further increased its share to 77.42 percent in the early 2000s. In 2024, Asyad Holding, a Saudi based group through UAE-based Wafi Energy Holding Limited acquired 77.42 percent shareholdings and control of Shell Pakistan Limited.

Timeline

* 1947 Burmah Shell (Pakistan) (percentage ownership of Shell – 50%) * 1970 Pakistan Burmah Shell (percentage ownership of Shell – 24.5%) * 1993 Shell Pakistan Ltd. (percentage ownership of Shell – 51%) * 2000 Shell Pakistan Ltd. (percentage ownership by Shell – 59.7%) * 2002 Shell Pakistan Ltd. (percentage ownership by Shell – 76.1%)

Operations

Aviation

Shell used to provide

jet fuel Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by Gas turbine, gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for ...

at five major airfields across Pakistan and was the second largest Jet fuel supplier in Pakistan until 2022 when it discontinued the operations in aviation sector.

Lubricants

It is the largest lubricant marketing company in Pakistan with over 20% share of the total lubricant market in the country. SPL's lubricant business is the second most profitable within Shell's Global Lubricant portfolio. The business is focused on sales of key Shell brands (Rimula, Helix & Advance) to high street traders and the transportation sector as well as heavy-duty brands to industrial customers and power sector customers.

Retail

It is the second-largest oil marketing company (OMC) and the largest private OMC in Pakistan with a 25% share of the white-oils market. The Retail business comprises over 800 retail outlets.

Pak-Arab Pipeline Company Limited

In August 2001, a new company called Pak-Arab Pipeline Company (PAPCO) was formed to construct and operate a critical 840 km white-oil pipeline for transportation of AGO from Karachi to depots in the centre and north of Pakistan. SPL has a 26% equity interest in PAPCO and the PAPCO's Chief Financial Officer remains a SPL nominee.

References

External links

* {{Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc Automotive fuel retailers 1947 establishments in Pakistan 1970s initial public offerings Oil and gas companies of Pakistan Pakistani subsidiaries of foreign companies Companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange Companies in the KSE 100 Index Pakistani companies established in 1947