ONGC's Dec-quarter PBT halves to Rs 5,998 cr on fall in oil, gas prices

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on Friday reported halving of its pre-tax profit (PBT) to Rs 5,998.5 crore in the December quarter, against Rs 12,062.99 crore during the same period previous year. 

ONGC’s net profit also halved in the quarter after it faced the double whammy of falling oil and gas prices and a drop in production. Standalone net profit in the period at Rs 4,152 crore was 49.8 per cent lower than Rs 8,263 crore net profit in the same period of the previous fiscal year, the company said in a statement. The firm got 10 per cent lower price at $59.73 for the crude oil it produced and 4 per cent lower rate for natural gas at $3.23 per million British thermal unit.

Lower oil prices led to revenues dropping 14.4 per cent to Rs 23,710 crore in the third quarter of current fiscal year.

ONGC said oil production was 1 per cent lower at 4.82 mt in the quarter, while gas output saw 8.4 per cent reduction at 5.875 billion cubic metres.

It did not give reasons for the drop in production. Most of the fields it operates are old and are well past their prime. A natural decline in production has set in fields such as Mumbai High and Bassein in western offshore.