ONGC

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is the largest crude oil and natural gas company in India.

Headquartered in New Delhi, the company was incorporated as a government-owned entity in August 1956. Over the years, ONGC has evolved into one of the largest oil and gas explorers in the world. The public sector undertaking of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas produces approximately 70% of India's crude oil and around 84% of natural gas.

Recognising its significance, the Government accorded ONGC the Maharatna status in November 2010. The government has a 58.89% stake in the company (as of September 30, 2023).

As of December 14, 2023, ONGC’s market capitalisation stood at ₹2.52 lakh crore. ONGC share price has more than doubled in the last three years.

ONGC business operations

ONGC is primarily engaged in exploration and production of crude oil, natural gas and LPG. The company also produces various value-added petroleum products like NGL, C2-C3, aromatic-rich naphtha and kerosene.

The company operates through two subsidiaries, ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), along with 10 joint ventures and associates.

ONGC is India’s sole fully integrated oil and gas company, overseeing the complete hydrocarbon value chain. Responsible for discovering seven of the eight oil and gas-producing basins in India, this energy giant has identified 8.98 billion tonnes of in-place hydrocarbon reserves. With a portfolio of more than 570 oil and gas discoveries, ONGC holds reserves of 3.13 billion metric tonnes (BMT) of oil-plus-oil equivalent gas (O+OEG) from domestic sites.

Its cumulative production includes 1,042 million metric tonnes (MMT) of crude oil and 715 billion cubic metres (BCM) of natural gas. Contributing approximately 71% to India's domestic production, ONGC generates over 1.26 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Maintaining the largest share of hydrocarbon acreages in India, ONGC owns and operates about 15% of the country's total refining capacity. The PSU also holds a 12.5% stake in Petronet LNG. Some of the most notable ONGC subsidiaries are Hindustan Petroleum, Imperial Energy Corporation and Petronet LNG.

ONGC’s oil production stood at 16.88 million tonnes between April and February of the fiscal year 2022-23. ONGC has announced plans to invest significantly in exploring deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas in the current fiscal.

In FY23, ONGC’s standalone crude oil production reached 19.584 million metric tonnes (MMT), while standalone gas production amounted to 20.628 billion cubic metres (BCM). In FY22, the figure was 19.545 MMT of crude oil and 20.907 BCM of gas. ONGC’s total oil and gas production, including joint ventures, amounted to 42.836 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE), slightly lower than the previous fiscal year's 43.387 MMTOE.

Financial highlights

Consolidated revenue of the company in FY 2022-23 stood at ₹6,32,325 crore, up 28.7% year-on-year compared to ₹4,91,269 crore in FY22. The PSU reported a profit of ₹32,743 crore in FY23 as against ₹47,830 crore in FY22. Total income of ONGC stood at ₹6,40,400 crore in FY23 compared to ₹4,98,707 crore in preceding fiscal. The company made a total capital expenditure of ₹4,355 crore in FY23. Its earnings per share (EPS) decreased to ₹28.17 in FY23 from ₹36.19 in the last financial year.