NEW DELHI: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has made its highest ever net profit of Rs. 14,431 crore in 2005-06, an 11 per cent rise over Rs. 12,983 crore recorded in the previous year. This is despite having to pay Rs. 11,956 crore as fuel subsidies to downstream oil companies.

Disclosing this here on Monday, ONGC Chairman and Managing Director R. S. Sharma said the subsidy pay-out in 2005-06 was 191 per cent higher compared to Rs. 4,104 crore in the previous year.

Giving details of the company's audited results, he said the ONGC declared a final dividend of 200 per cent. The company had earlier declared an interim dividend of 250 per cent for 2005-06. Addressing a press conference, he said the ONGC had made ten new oil and gas discoveries, of which five gas finds were in the deepwaters of the Krishna-Godavari basin off the Andhra coast. He said the company planned to begin gas production from 2009-10.

The other discoveries made by the ONGC in 2005-06 were RV-1 in Mumbai offshore, B-9-1 in Saurashtra offshore and GS-15-E in Krishna Godavari offshore, Turputallu-I in KG onland and Mekeypore-3 in Assam Shelf.

Regarding the fire at the Mumbai High in July last year, ONGC officials said the company would resume normal production of up to 2.60 lakh barrels a day at its Mumbai High field by mid-July. He said it was planned to raise the output to three lakh barrels a day by next year.

On oil production from Russia's Sakhalin-I fields, ONGC Videsh Limited Managing Director R. S. Butola said the country would receive its first crude oil from these fields in the fourth quarter of 2006. ONGC Videsh had a 20 per cent stake in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas field and was likely to ship at least the first two cargoes to Indian refiners.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail