ONGC's Q3 profit hit by crude oil price fall, but future brightens with gas output push
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) posted rather muted December quarter (Q3) results, impacted by the continued drop in crude oil prices and stagnant volumes.
Higher gas realization, though, brought some comfort. Standalone Ebitda declined by 9% year-on-year to ₹17,300 crore, while revenue fell 6% to ₹31,500 crore. Consolidated revenue was flat at ₹1.67 trillion and Ebitda increased by 3% to ₹27,400 crore.
Lower crude prices improved the profit margins of its downstream refining subsidiary, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. The global crude market currently faces surplus supplies and dull demand conditions, suppressing prices even amid intermittent flare-ups triggered by geopolitical developments.
The upshot: The state-owned enterprise’s standalone Q3 crude price realization hit a 15-quarter low of $61.6 per barrel, down 15% year-on-year. It helps that gas realization was up about 6% to ₹23.2 per standard cubic metre (SCM), aided by a higher share of new wells gas (NWG), which is eligible for a 20% premium over the price based on the administered price mechanism. NWG contributed 18% of Q3’s total gas revenue and this share is expected to increase to 24% in FY27 and over 35% in 3-4 years with the commissioning of new gas fields, the management said on the earnings call.
Output numbers disappointed too. ONGC’s oil and gas production including its share in joint ventures fell 1.3% to 10.2 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mmtoe). The decline was lower in the first nine months of FY26 at 0.5%.
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