New Delhi: State-run oil and gas companies spent a combined Rs 46,600 crore in the first five months of the current financial year, achieving 35 percent of their annual capital expenditure (capex) target of Rs 1.32 lakh crore, according to data from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) led the spending with Rs 12,979 crore, followed by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) at Rs 10,860 crore. ONGC has set an annual target of Rs 34,900 crore, while IOC’s target for the year stands at Rs 35,294 crore.
A large part of ONGC’s capex has gone toward redeveloping ageing oilfields, enhancing recovery from mature assets and drilling new production wells, along with exploration investments. IOC’s spending has primarily focused on expanding refining capacity and developing gas marketing infrastructure.
Together with its subsidiaries and affiliates — ONGC Videsh (Rs 2,310 crore), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (Rs 4,187 crore) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (Rs 627 crore) — the ONGC group’s total spending reached Rs 20,103 crore during April–August.
Hindustan Petroleum is nearing completion of its greenfield Barmer refinery, while ONGC Videsh continues to invest in exploration and development of overseas fields.
At Rs 4,605 crore, Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) was the third-largest spender among state-run oil firms, followed by Oil India Ltd (OIL), which spent Rs 4,424 crore. OIL’s subsidiary Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL), currently expanding its refining capacity, accounted for Rs 2,547 crore of this total till August.
GAIL (India) Ltd, the country’s largest natural gas transporter and marketer, spent Rs 3,853 crore out of its annual target of Rs 8,377 crore. The company is expanding pipeline capacity nationwide and scaling up its petrochemical operations.
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