ONGC reports four fold jump in Q3 PAT at 10,932 cr

Mumbai, Feb 13 (Agency) State-owned ONGC on Saturday reported a nearly four fold jump in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 at Rs 10,932 crore on the back of higher revenues. The company had reported a consolidated PAT of Rs 2518 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Its gross revenues for the October-December quarter rose 45.3 per cent at Rs 1,45,686 crore from Rs 1,00,289 crore in Q3 FY2021, the company said in a release. During the quarter, ONCG’s crude realisation from nominated blocks stood at Rs 5,677 per barrel as against Rs 3,186 per barrel in Q3 FY2021, registering a rise of 78.2 per cent.

In dollar terms, it improved 75.3 per cent from USD 43.20 per barrel in Q3 FY2021 to USD 75.73 per barrel in Q3 FY2022. Realisation from joint venture fields stood at USD 75.76 per barrel from USD 43.91 per barrel in Q3FY21, up 72.5 per cent. In rupee terms, it rose 75.4 per cent to Rs 5,679 per barrel from Rs 3,238 per barrel in Q3FY21. Gas price on GCV (gross calorific value) basis stood at USD 2.90 per mmbtu as against USD 1.79 per mmbtu in Q3 FY2021. Total crude production during the quarter however slipped 3.2 per cent to 5.451 MMT from 5.631 MMT last fiscal.

Similarly, the total gas production dipped 4.2 per cent to 5.564 BCM from 5.809 BCM. Also, the production of value added products declined 5.7 per cent to 763 KT from 809 KT, a year ago. “The production of crude oil and gas has declined during current year mainly due to restrictive conditions created by cyclone Tauktae and Covid, delay in mobilization of MOPU Sagar Samrat to WO-16 Cluster project, modification work at Hazira and reservoir issues in S1 Vashistha fields in Eastern Offshore ,” the company said. During the current fiscal, ONGC declared a total 3 discoveries, with two onland and one offshore, in its operated acreages.

“Out of the three hydrocarbon discoveries notified till date during the FY 2021-22, the two on-land discoveries including South Velpuru-2 and Gopavaram Deep-1 have already been monetised by ONGC,” it said. During the nine months ended December 31, 2021, the company had decided to opt for lower tax regime u/s 115BAA of the Income Tax Act, 1961,with effect from FY 2020-21. Accordingly, the company has recognized provision for tax expenses and re-measured its net deferred tax. Commenting on the company’s performance, ONGC CMD Dr Alka Mittal said the firm has drawn up plans to increase its capex spend in the next few years. “A major part of this spend will be on exploration with acquisition of new acreages; use of latest technology in seismic data acquisition, processing and interpretation (API) and on development and infrastructure projects for fast tracking the monetization of discovered resources. ONGC is also in the process of incorporating a wholly owned subsidiary to focus and grow its gas business,” Mittal added.