Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd – ₹3 Lakh Crore Giant Still Pumping Like It’s 1974
1. At a Glance
ONGC is like that uncle at every wedding who refuses to retire—still drinking, still dancing, and still claiming he built the house. With a ₹3,01,000 Cr market cap, 71% share in India’s oil output, and 84% in gas, it remains India’s fossil-fuel daddy. But here’s the twist: sales growth is flatter than soda left open overnight, while profit swings harder than a drunk DJ at Sangeet.
2. Introduction
ONGC is India’s oil ATM, but unlike your SBI ATM, it doesn’t run out of cash—it runs out of crude. It pumps 44.51 million tonnes of oil and gas, but production is slowly leaking like pani from your old cooler.
Every Indian car, scooter, and tharra distillery has probably consumed ONGC’s products. It’s a Maharatna PSU, meaning the government milks it for dividends while also tying its hands with regulations. Think of it as the obedient eldest son in a joint family—working overtime, paying everyone’s bills, and still getting yelled at by chacha-ji (aka Ministry of Petroleum).
But while profits are volatile (down 21% TTM), dividend yield of 5% is the mithai box shareholders receive every year. Is that enough to keep patience?
What do you think: would you hold ONGC for dividends, or does PSU drama scare you off?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
ONGC’s business model is basically “dig, pump, and pray.”
Exploration & Production (Core): The company makes discoveries across Jodhpur, Mehsana, Assam, and Mumbai offshore. It drilled 413 wells in 9M FY25. Some hit oil, others hit… disappointment.
International Bets: Through ONGC Videsh, it has 32 assets in 15 countries. Unfortunately, production abroad is also falling—international oil 5.5 MMT vs 7.1 last year.
Refining & Petrochemicals: Subsidiaries like MRPL (refinery) and OPaL (petchem) keep the value chain alive, though refining margins halved (GRM fell to $4–5 per bbl).
Downstream Play: HPCL gives it pipelines, pumps, and pan-India retail coverage. Think of it as ONGC’s “Netflix family plan”—covers everyone.
So in short, it’s not just drilling. It’s an integrated oil-to-cooking gas empire—just don’t expect Silicon Valley growth.
4. Financials Overview
Quarterly Snapshot (₹ Cr)
Source table
Metric
Jun 2025
Jun 2024
Mar 2025
YoY %
QoQ %
Revenue
1,63,108
1,68,968
1,70,812
-3.5%
-4.5%
EBITDA
25,679
21,785
22,085
+17.8%
+16.3%
PAT
11,554
9,776
8,856
+18.2%
+30.5%
EPS (₹)
7.79
7.93
5.82
-1.8%
+33.9%
Annualised EPS = ₹31.2 → P/E at CMP ₹239 = 7.6x.
Witty Note: Imagine earning ₹1.6 lakh crore and still being told “profits thode aur badhao” by babus. Classic PSU parent–child relationship.
