Oil India reports highest-ever profit due to high fuel, gas prices

State-owned Oil India Ltd on Friday reported its highest-ever quarterly net profit in the three months to March as it got nearly USD 100 per barrel price for oil produced and sold.

Net profit at Rs 1,630.01 crore in January-March was almost double of Rs 847.56 crore profit in the same period of last year, OIL Director (Finance) Harish Madhav told reporters here.

This is because the firm got USD 98.08 for every barrel of crude oil produced and sold in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, as compared to USD 59.80 a barrel realisation a year back.

For the full 2021-22 fiscal (April 2021 to March 2022) as well, the firm reported its highest-ever profit of Rs 3,887.31 crore, or Rs 35.85 per share, up from Rs 1,741.59 crore, or Rs 16.06 a share, in the previous financial year.

Turnover rose 27 per cent in Q4 to Rs 4,972.91 crore and by 55 per cent in FY22 to Rs 16,427.65 crore.

"This is the highest-ever quarterly and annual net profit as well as highest-ever quarterly and annual turnover," he said.

The nation's second-biggest state oil and gas explorer got USD 2.35 per million British thermal unit gas price in 2021-22, as against USD 2.09 per mmBtu in 2020-21.

He said the company achieved the highest-ever natural gas production of 3.04 billion cubic metres in 2021-22, an increase of 15.25 per cent over last year. Natural gas production in Q4 of 2021-22 was also higher by 13.1 per cent over the corresponding period last year.

Crude oil production during 2021-22 increased by 1.6 per cent to 3.01 million tonnes. In Q4, oil output increased by 4.2 per cent year-on-year.

The firm made two new hydrocarbon discoveries in the year in the Tinsukia district of Assam.

The board of the company recommended a final dividend of Rs 5 per share for FY22. It had earlier paid an interim dividend of Rs 9.25 a share for the same fiscal. The total dividend for the year will be Rs 14.25 per share.

OIL Chairman and Managing Director S C Mishra said the firm has become the first company in the country to commission a pilot plant of 100 KW capacity for the production of green hydrogen in Assam.

The plant is based on Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) technology for the production of green hydrogen of 99.99 per cent purity.

OIL has also entered into collaboration with start-ups for the development of green hydrogen utilities.