At Rs 65,000 cr, oil PSUs roll out 62% of FY24 capex target during Apr-Oct

New Delhi: State-run oil companies in India have spent ₹65,000 crore on capital expenditure during the first seven months of this financial year, underscoring their rapid expansion to meet surging demand for energy in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

These companies had set a capex target of ₹106,000 crore for the year through March 2024, and they have already achieved 62% during the April to October period, according to oil ministry data.

IndianOil, the nation’s top refiner and fossil fuel retailer, has already spent two-thirds of this year’s budget of ₹30,000 crore. The company has been spending on a range of projects from petrochemicals to pipelines, fuel marketing, and natural gas infrastructure.

IndianOil is targeting to boost its refining capacity to 107 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2025 from the current 70 mtpa

Oil and Natural Gas Corp., the largest domestic producer of oil and gas, is the second-highest spender among the state-run oil companies. It has spent ₹18,000 crore between April and October, about 60% of its capex target of ₹30,000 crore. The company’s capital spending is spread over multiple upstream projects, aimed at enhancing oil and gas production.

Hindustan Petroleum has spent three-fourths of its target of ₹10,000 crore for the year towards expansion of its refinery in Barmer and other projects.
Bharat Petroleum spent ₹5,800 crore towards capex against the FY24 target of ₹10,000 crore. Gail, the nation’s largest transporter and marketer of natural gas, has used up nearly two-thirds of its annual budget. It spent ₹5,000 crore against the target of ₹7,750 crore.Oil India Ltd has spent ₹2,700 crore against its annual goal of ₹4,900 crore while ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of ONGC, has spent about half of its annual budget of ₹3,200 core.

Indian state-run oil and gas firms have been rapidly expanding, adding new production and distribution infrastructure as domestic energy demand rises. Consumption of natural gas rose 9% year-on-year in the April-October period while that of refined petroleum products jumped 6%.