ONGC misses capex target; OIL, IOC, HPCL, BPCL exceed budgeted spending for FY21

• The government had directed PSUs to step up their capex for FY21 in order to provide stimulus for economic growth

• Against the budgeted target of Rs 32,502 crore, ONGC spent Rs 26,441 crore in FY21

New Delhi: In a year overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, while state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) missed its capex target for FY21 by one-fifth, other downstream oil and gas companies, like Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) exceeded the targeted spending, official data showed. The government had directed PSUs to step up their capex for FY21 in order to provide stimulus for economic growth. Capex by PSUs was being closely monitored by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) and the Finance Ministry.

ONGC spent Rs 26,441 cr against target of Rs 32,502 cr

Against the budgeted target of Rs 32,502 crore, ONGC spent Rs 26,441 crore in FY21, data sourced from the Petroleum Ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) showed. The lower than targeted capex was on account of project implementation getting delayed due to supply disruptions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Movement restrictions imposed in several parts of India impacted the availability of labour and disrupted supply chains, causing projects to get delayed. 

ONGC's overseas arm ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) also recorded a lower capex at Rs 5,351 crore in FY21 as opposed to Rs 7,235 crore spent in FY20. 

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Oil India Ltd (OIL), however, exceeded its capex target for the year by a huge margin as it spent Rs 12,802 crore in FY21 against the budgeted Rs 3,877 crore. The spending was primarily driven by the acquisition of BPCL's shares in Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL).

IOC, HPCL, BPCL exceed capex targets

However, state-run fuel retailers exceeded the capex targets for the previous financial year by a big margin. IOC spent Rs 27,195 crore against the budgeted capex target of Rs 26,233 crore. HPCL, on the other hand, spent Rs 14,036 crore against the target of Rs 11,500 crore. BPCL, too, spent Rs 10,697 crore instead of the budgeted Rs 9,000 crore. GAIL (India) Ltd spent Rs 5,412 crore, exceeding its capex target for FY21 by Rs 150 crore.

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