ONGC LOOKS TO REVERSE OIL, GAS OUTPUT DECLINE

NEW DELHI: India’s largest oil and gas producer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will this year reverse years of decline in production and gradually raise output thereafter as it invests billions of dollars to produce from newer discoveries, company’s management told investors in a call.

ONGC in fiscal year 2021-22 produced 21.707 million tonne of crude oil, which is refined to produce petroleum products like petrol and diesel, and 21.68 billion cubic meter (bcm) of natural gas, which is used to produce electricity, manufacture fertilizer and as CNG in automobiles.

In current fiscal year (2022-23), crude oil production is slated to rise to 22.823 million tonne and gas to 22.099 bcm.

In the following fiscal year, oil production will climb to 24.636 million tonne and to 25.689 million tonne in 2024-25, the management told investors in a call post announcement of second quarter earnings last week.

Natural gas production is slated to rise to 25.685 bcm in 2023-24 and to 27.529 bcm in the following year.

“We have reversed the declining trend,” ONGC Director (Finance) Pomila Jaspal said.

ONGC, which contributes around 71% to India’s domestic production, has reported a gradual decline in output for over a decade now primarily because its fields are old and ageing.

The government has considered giving away oil producer’s biggest oil and gas fields to private and foreign companies in an attempt to boost output but this has faced internal resistance.