OIL energises Q2 net profit by 28%

New Delhi: State-owned Oil India Ltd Monday reported a 28 per cent jump in its September quarter net profit as it benefited from a rise in international oil prices and depreciation of the rupee.

Net profit in July-September at Rs 862.01 crore, or Rs 7.59 per share, was higher than Rs 645.97 crore, or Rs 5.69 a share, net profit in the same period last year, the company said in a statement here.

The company earned $73.42 for every barrel of crude oil it produced and sold in the quarter, up from $50.10 a barrel realisation in the year ago period.

Also, it benefited from rupee averaging at 70.15 to a US dollar in the second quarter of current fiscal as compared to 64.29 to a US dollar in the same period of previous financial year.

The company bills its customers in US dollar and stands to gain when rupee depreciates.

Oil production was almost flat at 0.85 million tonnes while natural gas output marginally dipped to 0.73 billion cubic meters. "Crude price realisation in rupee terms was higher by 57.32 per cent to Rs 4,988.47 per barrel in H1 FY2018-19 as compared to Rs 3,170.87 a barrel during H1 FY2017-18," the statement said.

Average natural gas price realisation was $3.06 per million British thermal unit as compared to $2.48 per

mmBtu.