State-owned oil firms such as ONGC and IOC will invest over Rs 1110 billion in the next fiscal year starting April as they supplement the government's massive spending programme to spur economic growth.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), GAIL (India) Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) will together make a 7.4 per cent higher capital expenditure in the 2022-23 fiscal (FY23).
The capex spending of Rs 1110 billion in 2022-23 compares with a revised estimate of Rs 1040 billion for the current fiscal year that ends in March.
The Union Budget for 2022-23, the government continued on its path of supply-side economics and plans to boost investments, thereby increasing jobs and consumption instead of directly announcing any monetary relief to the lower end of the population.
None of the oil PSUs gets any subsidy support from the government. The government has provided a small Rs 40 billion subsidy on domestic cooking gas (LPG) in the next fiscal. The subsidy outgo in the current fiscal has been put at Rs 34 billion, lower than Rs 124.80 billion budgeted at the beginning of the fiscal, the documents showed.
ONGC has planned a capital expenditure (capex) of Rs 299.50 billion in FY23, marginally lower than the revised estimated expenditure of Rs 305 billion in the current fiscal. The current fiscal spending is higher than Rs 298 billion planned spending at the beginning of the year.
IOC, the nation's largest oil refining and fuel marketing company, has an outlay of Rs 285.49 billion for the next year, almost the same as FY22.
Gas utility GAIL will invest Rs 75 billion in the expansion of pipeline grid and petrochemical plants, up from Rs 71.60 billion revised expenditure in the current fiscal (FY22).
GAIL will invest Rs 75 billion in the expansion of pipeline grid and petrochemical plants, up from Rs 71.60 billion revised expenditure in the current fiscal (FY22).
Privatization-bound BPCL's Rs 100 billion planned investment includes Rs 81.20 billion in refinery and fuel marketing and another Rs 5 billion in petrochemicals. This compares with spending of Rs 105 billion in the current fiscal.
HPCL has a total outlay of Rs 145 billion for the next fiscal, 7 per cent more than the estimated spending in the current year.
