ONGC posts near three-fold rise in Q3 profit at Rs4,352 crore
ONGC declares an interim dividend of Rs2.25 on each share of Rs5, leading to a payout of Rs2,887 crore
New Delhi: State-owned energy explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) Tuesday posted a near three-fold increase in quarterly net profit despite a slight dip in crude oil output as realisations rose sharply on account of higher global prices.
Net profit in the December quarter rose 197% to Rs4,352 crore from Rs1,466 crore a year ago. While total crude oil output contracted 1.9% to 6.4 million tonnes from a year ago, net realisation rose 16.8% to $51.8 a barrel.
Gross revenue for the December quarter this year jumped 9% from a year ago to Rs20,014 crore.
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ONGC declared an interim dividend of Rs2.25 on each share of Rs5, leading to a payout of Rs2,887 crore, out of which the central government will receive Rs1,973 crore in line with its 68.34% shareholding in the company.
Gas production jumped 4.4% in the December quarter to 6.025 billion cubic meters from a year ago. Gas price, however, came down 35% in the third quarter this year to $2.5 per million British thermal unit from $3.82 a year ago.
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The company also said it will invest $66 million or Rs474 crore for developing its Western offshore field B-173A , which is expected to go on production from February 2019. The cumulative production from this field till 2031-32 is pegged at 0.76 million tonne of oil and 0.21 billion cubic metres of gas, ONGC said. The company has so far this financial year notified 16 hydrocarbon discoveries for future development.
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