State-owned
Oil and Natural Gas Corp (
ONGC) on Friday reported a 60 per cent jump in net profit in the second quarter ending September 30 on back of higher crude oil prices.
Net profit in July-September at Rs 8,642 crore was up 60.4 per cent over Rs 5,389 crore in the year ago period, ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Sudhir Vasudeva said.
"The increase was mainly due to higher price realisation and lower fuel subsidy payout," he said.
ONGC got $116.94 for every barrel of crude oil produced in the second quarter as against $79.21 per barrel in the same period a year ago. After paying fuel subsidy, its net realisation was $83.70 per barrel as against $62.75 a barrel in Q2 of last fiscal.
The company sells crude to state refiners at a discount to help compensate them for losses incurred on selling fuel below cost.
ONGC's net selling price of crude to refiners, after discounts, climbed 33.4 per cent to $83.70 a barrel from $48.73 per barrel in Q1 of current fiscal, he said.
Revenue was up 24.4 per cent at Rs 22,687 crore while the firm's fuel subsidy payout in absolute terms stood at Rs 5,713 crore.
"Our net profit would have been higher by Rs 3,322 crore but for the fuel subsidy payout," Vasudeva said.
Upstream firms like ONGC and Oil India currently bear one-third of the loss that refiners incur on selling fuel at government controlled price.
ONGC's crude production was almost unchanged at 6.84 million tons in Q2 while gas output was up marginally to 6.39 billion cubic meters from 6.25 bcm a year ago.
The company, he said, made three new discoveries during July-September and one in October taking the total finds in current fiscal to 9.
"We have commenced gas production from a structure in B-22 cluster fields off the west coast," he said. "Currently, BS-13A-2H structure is producing gas at the rate of 200,000 lakh standard cubic meters per day."
ONGC will see its crude oil output rising by 1 million tons next year from current year target of 23.9 million tons as it bring on stream marginal or small fields on the east and west coast.
"The production will rise by 4 million tons in 2013-14," he said.
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