Outlook slippery for oil retailers

Cooling down Oil marketing companies may maintain their strong show in Q2FY26 given the continued softness in crude price.

- Ashish Agrawal

Shares of state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) have been down 6-9% since 30 July in the backdrop of the US imposing additional tariffs on India due to the import of discounted Russian crude.

However, as Emkay Global Financial Services points out, the impact on overall gross refining margins should not be significant sequentially in the September quarter (Q2FY26), as the discount on the Russian crude, according to managements, was just about $1.5 per barrel.

Plus, stocks of OMCs—Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL)—could find support amid the government's decision to reimburse ₹30,000 crore of under-recoveries on the sale of domestic LPG, and solid Q1FY26 results.

The combined FY25 under-recovery was ₹41,300 crore.

The OMCs supply LPG cylinders at regulated prices to consumers, with the government paying the difference.