Weaker Re helps ONGC post 48% rise in profit

A weaker rupee during the June quarter led India's biggest energy explorer, state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), to post a 48 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 6,078 crore. Profit for the corresponding previous quarter stood at Rs 4,095 crore.

During the quarter, the rupee declined 8.6 per cent against the dollar. “Realisation in rupee is more and, thus, our profit is higher," said Sudhir Vasudeva, chairman.

ONGC's revenue for the quarter went up 24 per cent from Rs 16,268crore in the first quarter last year to Rs 20,149 crore. During the quarter, the company sold crude oil at $46.62 a barrel, against $48.74 a barrel a year ago when Brent crude averaged $108.76 a barrel, seven per cent lower than a year ago.

ONGC said it expected cost of production at $47 a barrel by the end of this financial year. Production cost during the quarter increased to $44 a barrel from $38 a barrel in the corresponding quarter of the last financial year.

Subsidy sharing for the company, however, increased marginally to Rs 12,346 crore from Rs 12,046 crore year-on-year.

Four new discoveries
ONGC today notified four discoveries in the last one month. The company said while carrying out development drilling in D1 field, it discovered a new pool of reserves which may catapult D1 to become the third-largest field in western offshore, after its prolific Mumbai high and Heera fields.

"This is a big discovery which has been eluding ONGC for a long time,"said Vasudeva.

D1, primarily an oil-producing field, is situated 200 km west of Mumbai city. The field comprises of four blocks namely — D1-4, D1-12, D1-14 and D1-2/5.

The company is presently implementing an integrated development plan for D1 field. Development drilling activities in the blocks of D1-4 and D1-14 have been taken up which will increase the production of D1 from the current level of 12,500 to 36,000 barrels day by February 2013.

On complete development of the field, the production is expected to go up to 60,000 barrels of oil per day.Apart from this, ONGC notified three more discoveries namely Madnam3in Cauvery onland basin in Tamil Nadu; Mukkamala 1 in Krishna Godavari onland basin and BH68 in Mumbai offshore sector of Western offshore basin.

ONGC's peer, Oil India was also able to post a 9.45 per cent increase in net profit for the quarter ended June 30, due to a weaker rupee.

Oil India's profit for the quarter stood at Rs 930 crore against Rs 849.61 crore in corresponding quarter of last year.ONGC to re-tender for CBM stake sale ONGC will now go for re-tendering to farm out stake in four of its coal bed methane blocks to private energy companies.Vasudeva said the company will now have to go back to the drawing board and invite international bids too for the farm out stake.

ONGC had last month decided to sell 35 per cent of its stake in four of its coal-bed methane blocks for a certain financial consideration and production sharing at a later stage but the ministry for oil and natural gas intervened asking it to scrap the same and invite global bids.