ONGC faces a double whammy

Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd's (ONGC) shares have stayed largely flat over the past year amid lower crude oil prices and stagnant volumes. Unfortunately for investors, the September quarter (Q2FY26) results hardly move the needle.

- Ashish Agrawal

Standalone Ebitda, excluding forex transactions, fell about 3% in Q2FY26 to ₹17,700 crore. Despite improved gas realization and marginally higher sales volumes, falling crude prices and higher operating expenses weighed on earnings.

Petrochemicals arm ONGC Petro additions Ltd’s (OPaL) recorded an Ebitda of ₹210 crore, against ₹10 crore loss in Q2FY25. OPaL's profitability could further improve as capacity utilization is likely to surpass 90% visa-vis about 80% in Q2.

ONGC's standalone Q2 revenue fell 2.5% to ₹33,000 crore. Average crude oil realization (excluding joint ventures) fell 14% year-on-year (yo-y) to $67.3 per barrel. The fall was lower in rupee terms at about 10% due to currency depreciation.