Oil India

A Maharatna company of the Government of India, Oil India Limited (OIL) is engaged in the exploration, production and transportation of crude oil and natural gas. Oil India Limited is India's second-largest national oil and gas company. The firm's history can be tracked to 1889 from the time of the discovery of crude oil in Assam's Digboi. The company was expanded as a private limited firm in 1959 to focus on the newly discovered fields of Moran and Naharkatiya in the northeastern part of India.

Business operations

Oil India became a joint venture of the Government of India and the UK's Burmah Oil Company in 1961. The company became a public entity in 1961 and the word private was dropped from its name. It commissioned a gas power plant in Assam's Duliajan.

According to the agreement between the parties, shares of Burmah Oil Company were transferred to the President of India, making Oil India Limited a wholly owned subsidiary of the Government of India in 1981. As of March 31, 2023, the Government of India holds close to 57% of shares of the company directly and 10% of shares Indirectly through its various PSUs, whereas the FIIs, DIIs, and Public hold 11%, 16%, and 6% shares respectively.

By 1963, the firm had completed the construction of a 401 km pipeline from Duliajan to Guwahati and another 756 km pipeline from Guwahati to Bihar's Barauni. In 1972, Oil India discovered commercially producible crude oil in the Jorajan fields and Kharsang fields. A decade later, an LPG plant based on turbo expander technology was commissioned in Assam's Duliajan.

In 1988, the company discovered a commercially exploitable gas reserve in Rajasthan's Ranot. A year later another similar gas reserve was discovered in Dandewala, Rajasthan.

With a legacy of hydrocarbon exploration of over six decades, Oil India contributes nearly 9% of the country's total crude and oil gas production. The company was granted a Navratna status in 2010 which was elevated to Maharatna in 2023.

It also has a significant presence in the entire value chain in the hydrocarbon sector and is engaged in the production of LPG. The firm's in-country operations are present across Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. It also has units in offshore areas – Andaman, Kerala-Konkan and KG shallow waters.

Oil India has also diversified into the renewable and alternative energy sector, installing and commissioning RE projects in the Wind and Solar domains with a total installed capacity of 188.10 MW – 174.10 MW of Wind Energy projects and 14 MW of solar energy projects.

In 2022, Oil India recorded its highest-ever quarterly profit in Q2 of FY23. The company approved an investment by its subsidiary company Numaligarh Refinery Limited for the implementation of a petrochemical project.

As of January 12, 2024. Oil India Limited's market capitalisation is valued at over ₹40,600 crores. Oil India Limited's share price has gained over 225% in the last three years.

Financial highlights

– Oil India Limited's total revenue from operations in FY23 stood at ₹41,039 crore, recording 36.75% year-on-year growth from ₹30,011 crore in FY22. – The company reported a net profit of ₹9,854.4 crore in FY23 as against ₹6719 crore in FY22. – Its earnings per share (EPS) grew to ₹ 80.49 in FY23 from ₹ 51.84 in the last financial year.