More Stories

Informist, Wednesday, May 27, 2026

 

Please click here to read all liners published on this story

--ONGC: Currently govt does not control any of co's ops except APM gas
--CONTEXT: Comments by ONGC's mgmt in post-earnings analyst call
--ONGC: Today we sell more natural gas than crude oil
--ONGC: Our New Well Gas at 9 mln standard cubic mtrs, to add 3 mscm more
--ONGC: Expect gas production to go up next year
--ONGC: Executing offshore projects worth INR 330 billion currently
--ONGC: Output at ONGC Videsh's Sakhalin facility at pre-Ukraine war levels
--ONGC: Hope to add 1 GW renewable power to current 3 GW portfolio in FY27
--ONGC:Natural gas more lucrative to us, should call ourselves 'Gas & Oil Co'
--ONGC: Will start monetising Daman Upside Development project wells by Mar
--ONGC: Many projects got delayed in Mar due to West Asia war
--ONGC: To drill 15-16 wells over coming two years
--ONGC: See big govt spend on exploration and production from FY28
--ONGC: OPaL operated less than 60% in March, may reach 80-85% in 4-5 days
 

 

By Sunil Raghu and Arya S. Biju

 

AHMEDABAD/MUMBAI – Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. expects natural gas production to go up further from next year, even as it continues to sell more natural gas than crude oil currently, the company's management told analysts and investors in a call Wednesday, after announcing its earnings for the March quarter and 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) late Tuesday.

 

"In Indian context, gas is more lucrative. So, we should call ourselves, gas and oil company, not oil and gas," a senior company official said in the post-earnings call. "I'm not saying, we can't produce, but oil growth, in our view, will be, unless we have, some big discovery, will be neutral. But gas, gas growth, will continue. So, we are, this impression that, ONGC will not grow, is not correct. So, we grow more, on gas side."

 

The management has based its optimism on executing offshore projects worth INR 330 billion currently and plans to drill 15-16 wells over the coming two years. With the government also pushing for exploration and production activity in the country, ONGC's management expects a big boost from government policies, beginning FY28. 

 

"...Most likely, you know, big money from government will start going from 2027-28 (Apr-Mar). 2026-27, I don't see any big spending coming on government because, you know, we have to see. Government has already started picking up the bills. Government has already set their budget," the company official said. He said today, the government does not interfere or control pricing or any other operations of the company, except pricing of natural gas from domestic wells that comes under the administered pricing mechanism. The government intervenes and nudges state-owned natural gas producing entities to price natural gas from older depreciated wells lower than the market price of natural gas from new wells or even imported liquefied natural gas.

 

From Apr. 1, gas production from new wells is more than 9 million standard cubic metres. The company expects to add another 3 mscm of new well gas. "So, it becomes 12 (mscm). 12 out of say whatever we sell, so 25% of our gas has become new well gas," the official said.

 

The company expects its mega offshore gas project - Daman Upside Development Project, recently put on production – to significantly increase gas production equivalent to nearly 9% of ONGC's current gas production. The management expects to start monetising project wells by March.

 

The Daman Upside project is expected to contribute 4-5 million standard cubic metres of gas per day at peak to ONGC's total natural gas volumes. Gas drilled from new wells is a key contributor to ONGC's earnings growth, as this gas is eligible for a 20% premium over the domestic APM gas price. Daman gas also qualifies for a 20% premium.

                               

Talking about the company's subsidiary ONGC Petro Additions Ltd., the company said its operations were impacted owing to the West Asia military conflict, as the government advised the company to divert feedstock to produce liquefied petroleum gas. ONGC Petro Additions owns and operates a 1.1-million-tonne-per annum greenfield petrochemical complex at Dahej in Gujarat, operated at less than 60% in March. The plant may now reach 80-85?pacity utilisation within four-five days, the official added.

 

The company's management reiterated its investments in renewable energy and added that it was on path to implement its plans to add up to 10 gigawatts of green power to its portfolio. It also hopes to add 1 GW of power to the existing 3 GW portfolio of its wholly-owned subsidiary ONGC Green Ltd. in FY27.

 

On its overseas operations, ONGC executives said operations and production at ONGC Videsh Ltd.'s Sakhalin project in Russia had reached levels seen before the Russia-Ukraine military conflict, which assumed full-blown proportion since 2022. ONGC Videsh has 20% stake in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project. It provides long-term crude oil and gas to India. Though ONGC officials did not disclose the figures, published numbers show Sakhalin-1 had output of nearly 270,000 barrels per day in 2022.

 

The company announced its March quarter results late on Tuesday, reporting a net profit of INR 66.50 billion on revenue of INR 359.28 billion. At 1407 IST, its shares traded 4.3% lower at INR 275.15 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

US$1 = INR 95.75

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.