Oil and Natural Gas Corporation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited

Type	Central Public Sector Undertaking
Traded as	NSE: ONGC BSE: 500312 BSE SENSEX Constituent NSE NIFTY 50 Constituent
ISIN	ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=INE213A01029 INE213A01029]
Industry	Energy: Oil and gas
Founded	14 August 1956; 68 years ago (1956-08-14)
Headquarters	Deendayal Urja Bhawan, 5A-5B Nelson Mandela Road, Vasant Kunj, Delhi, India
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Arun Kumar Singh (Chairman & CEO)
Products	Petroleum Natural gas LNG Lubricants Petrochemicals Electricity
Revenue	₹692,903 crore (US$120 billion) (2023)
Operating income	₹51,156 crore (US$8.7 billion) (2023)
Net income	₹32,778 crore (US$5.6 billion) (2023)
Total assets	₹614,529 crore (US$100 billion) (2023)
Total equity	₹301,255 crore (US$51 billion) (2023)
Owner	Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India
Number of employees	25,993 (as of March 2023)
Divisions	Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited ONGC Videsh ONGC Petro-Additions Limited ONGC Tripura Power Company
Subsidiaries	Hindustan Petroleum Imperial Energy Corporation Petronet LNG

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is a big Indian company. It is owned by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, which is part of the Government of India. Its main office is in Delhi.

ONGC started on August 14, 1956. It is the largest government-owned company in India that looks for and produces oil and gas. It makes about 70% of India's crude oil and 84% of its natural gas. This means ONGC handles almost all steps in the oil and gas business, from finding it to getting it ready for use.

In 2010, the Indian government gave ONGC the special Maharatna status. This means it's one of the most important and powerful government companies. In 2019–2020, it was ranked as the most profitable government company in India. It is also ranked 5th among the top 250 energy companies in the world by Platts.

ONGC searches for and develops oil and gas in 26 areas across India. It also manages over 11,000 kilometers of pipelines and uses 210 drilling machines. Its international branch, ONGC Videsh, works in 15 other countries. ONGC has found oil and gas in 7 of the 8 main producing areas in India. It has found over 7.15 billion tonnes of oil and gas in India. Even in older oil fields, ONGC keeps production steady by investing in new ways to get more oil out.

In 2018, ONGC bought a big share (51.11%) in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). This made ONGC even bigger in the oil and gas market.

How ONGC Started and Grew

Early Days (Before 1956)

A pumpjack working in an ONGC oilfield in Sivasagar, Assam.

Before India became independent in 1947, only two small companies produced oil in the country. Most of India was thought to have no oil or gas.

After India gained independence, the government realized that oil and gas were very important for building industries and for national defense. So, in 1948, they decided that developing the oil industry was very important.

Until 1955, private companies mostly looked for oil in India. But the government wanted to take charge. In late 1955, they created the Oil and Natural Gas Directorate. This group was made up of scientists who studied the Earth.

Indian officials visited other countries like Romania and the Soviet Union to learn about their oil industries. Experts from these countries then came to India to help plan how to find oil and gas.

In 1956, the government decided that the oil industry would be fully managed by the state. The Directorate soon became the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) in August 1956. This gave it more power to do its work. In 1959, it became an official organization by law. Its main job was to find, develop, produce, and sell oil and gas.

Growing Strong (1961 to 2000)

An ONGC platform at Bombay High in the Arabian Sea.

Since it started, ONGC has helped India's oil and gas industry grow a lot. It found new oil in Assam and also in Gujarat. It also found new areas with oil and gas along the East coast of India.

In 1963, ONGC found oil and gas in Sivasagar, Assam, and set up oilfields there.

In the early 1970s, ONGC started looking for oil offshore, meaning in the sea. They found a huge oil field called Mumbai High in the Arabian Sea. This discovery, and others like it, completely changed India's oil situation. Over 5 billion tonnes of oil and gas were found in India. ONGC also became very good at finding and producing oil and gas, becoming competitive globally.

In 1994, ONGC became a public company. This meant people could buy shares in it. The Indian government still owned 80% of the company. At that time, ONGC was the biggest Indian company by its net worth.

Even in 1958, ONGC's chairman, Keshav Dev Malaviya, thought ONGC should look for oil outside India. He believed India would need more oil than it could find at home. This led to ONGC finding the Rostum oilfield in Iran in the 1960s. This was the first time an Indian government company invested in oil production in another country.

Recent Times (2001 to Present)

In 2003, ONGC's international branch, ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), bought a share in a big oil project in Sudan.

In 2006, special coins were made to celebrate ONGC's 50th birthday. This showed how important the company is to India.

In 2012, ONGC Videsh worked with companies from Norway and Spain to drill for oil off the coast of Cuba. In the same year, ONGC found a large oil field off India's west coast. This discovery was expected to greatly increase oil production from that area.

In 2014, OVL and Oil India bought a share in a gas field in Mozambique for a large sum of money.

In 2015, ONGC gave a big contract to Larsen & Toubro to develop an offshore project. In 2016, ONGC decided to invest a lot of money in Tripura to drill wells and produce gas.

In 2017, the Indian government approved ONGC buying Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL). This deal was completed in 2018.

While ONGC's oil production has gone down a bit in recent years, the company announced in 2023 that it plans to invest a lot of money to find oil in very deep waters. In May 2023, ONGC said it would start producing oil in the Krishna Godavari Basin.

How ONGC Works

ONGC explores for and produces oil and gas. It also refines oil and develops new energy sources like gas from coal beds. The company has 11 main areas where it produces oil and gas. It also has 7 areas where it explores for new sources. ONGC also runs two plants and provides services like drilling.

ONGC's Branches and Partners

ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL)

OVL is ONGC's international branch. It was renamed in 1989. Its main job is to find, develop, and produce oil and gas outside India. OVL currently has 38 projects in 17 countries. Its oil and gas production has grown a lot over the years. ONGC owns 100% of OVL.

OVL has projects in many parts of the world:

• Latin America: Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela.
• CIS & Far-East: Vietnam, Myanmar, Russia, Kazakhstan.
• Africa: Libya, Nigeria, Sudan and South Sudan, Mozambique.
• Middle East: Syria.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL)

HPCL is an Indian government-owned oil and natural gas company. Its main office is in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It sells about 25% of the oil products in India among government companies. ONGC owns 51.11% of HPCL's shares. HPCL is also a very large company, listed among the world's biggest corporations.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL)

MRPL is an oil refinery in Mangalore. It can process 15 million tonnes of oil each year. It makes different types of fuel, including high-quality diesel and unleaded petrol.

ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Limited (OMPL)

OMPL is a company started by ONGC and MRPL. ONGC owns 49% and MRPL owns 51% of OMPL. It was started in 2006. The OMPL complex is a large area in Mangalore. It gets its raw materials from the MRPL Refinery. It is also close to the New Mangalore Port and the Mangalore International Airport.

ONGC Sports

ONGC has supported many sports teams over the years. These include athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, chess, cricket, cue sports, carrom, field hockey, football, kabaddi, shooting, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, and wrestling. Its football team, ONGC F.C., even played in India's top league, the I-League.

The basketball team is especially famous. Many players from India's national basketball team have played for ONGC. These include Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Amritpal Singh, and Yadwinder Singh.

Working with Others (Joint Ventures)

ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC)

ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC) is a company formed in 2008. It is a partnership between ONGC, Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited, and the government of Tripura. This company built a large power plant in Palatana, Tripura. This plant produces 726.6 megawatts of electricity. It helps provide power to states in northeastern India that need more electricity.

ONGC Petro Additions Limited (OPaL)

ONGC Petro additions Limited (OPaL) is a big company started in 2006. It is a partnership between ONGC, Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC). ONGC owns about 49% of OPaL.

OPaL has a large complex in Dahej, Gujarat. This complex started working in 2017. It was built with a large investment and is part of India's first special area for petroleum, chemicals, and petrochemicals.

As of 2023, this complex can produce 1.5 million tons of polymers each year. Polymers are materials used to make plastics and other products. It also makes other petrochemical products.

Training for the Future

• Institute of Petroleum Safety, Health and Environment Management, Goa

What ONGC Produces

ONGC provides crude oil, natural gas, and other valuable products to major oil and gas companies in India. Its main products, crude oil and natural gas, are used across India.

Here's a look at ONGC's revenue from different products in 2016–17:

Who Owns ONGC Shares

ONGC's shares are traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India. It is part of important stock market indexes like BSE SENSEX and S&P CNX Nifty.

As of March 31, 2013, the Government of India owned about 69% of ONGC's shares. Over 480,000 individual people owned about 1.65% of its shares. Life Insurance Corporation of India is the largest non-government shareholder, owning 7.75% of the shares.

Here's a breakdown of who owned ONGC shares as of March 31, 2013:

Employees

As of March 31, 2017, ONGC had 33,600 employees. About 6.57% of these employees were women.

Awards and Recognitions

ONGC has received many awards for its work:

• In 2013, it was named the top employer in the Energy sector in India by Randstad India.
• It won the 'Golden Peacock Award' in 2014 for its efforts in corporate social responsibility (helping the community).
• It also won the 'Golden Peacock Award' in 2013 for keeping its workplaces safe and healthy.
• In 2013, Forbes Global 2000 ranked ONGC as the 155th largest company in the world.
• In 2011, Transparency International ranked ONGC as the most transparent company in India.
• In November 2010, the Government of India gave it the special 'Maharatna' status. This gives ONGC more freedom to make important decisions.
• In 2014, FICCI gave ONGC the Best Company Promoting Sports Award.
• ONGC won the "Greentech Excellence Award" in 2013.
• ONGC has been recognized as one of India's most trusted brands in various reports.
• ONGC is the main sponsor for the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Award organized by Amar Ujala.

See also

• List of companies of India
• List of largest companies by revenue
• Make in India
• Forbes Global 2000
• Fortune India 500
• Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad
• Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology
• University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun