India’s ONGC posts 20% drop in quarterly profit on lower crude prices

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 (USD 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 USD 84.84 per barrel in the latest quarter, compared with USD 95.50 a year earlier, while realisations in its joint ventures fell 16.4% to USD 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.