ONGC posts 20% drop in quarterly profit on lower crude oil prices

BENGALURU (Reuters) – India’s state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on Friday posted a more than 20% drop in second-quarter profit, dragged down by lower prices for crude oil.

Crude prices have fallen more than 35% from their peak in the September quarter last year amid economic uncertainties and easing concerns over supply.

The company’s profit fell to 102.16 billion Indian rupees ($1.23 billion) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with 128.26 billion rupees a year earlier.

Crude oil price realisation, or the price at which it sells the product, was down 11.2% at $84.84 per barrel in the latest quarter, compared with $95.50 a year earlier, while realisations in its joint ventures fell 16.4% to $79.41, the country’s top explorer said in a statement.

ONGC’s total crude oil production fell 2.1% to 5.25 million metric tons (MMT), while total gas production dropped 2.8%.

Oil India reported a more than 80% drop in second-quarter profit on Wednesday as it set aside 23.63 billion rupees for an ongoing litigation.

($1 = 83.2223 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR and Nishit Navin in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)