Higher crude oil output can add new triggers for Oil India

Improving realisations and refining margins enhance earnings visibility

Oil India, which had remained a laggard till early July, has significantly outperformed its larger upstream peer ONGC, as well as broader indices. While Oil India has gained 34 per cent in the past three months, ONGC was up about 10 per cent and the Sensex by around two per cent.

Oil India’s under-performance in the past can be attributed to the downtrend in crude oil prices, muted production growth, and the overhang of a royalty payout to the Assam government. Even the anticipated gas price hike in March not coming through added some disappointment. Looking at the stagnant crude oil