Oil India Limited (OIL) is expanding its growth strategy beyond its mature producing fields, with plans to raise domestic oil and gas output while increasing deep-water exploration, refining and pipeline capacity and developing lower-carbon businesses.
At the company’s 67th annual general meeting on Thursday, chairman and managing director Dr Ranjit Rath outlined a strategy aimed at sustaining production through intensified activity in existing fields and exploration in new offshore basins.
OIL produced 3.450 million tonnes of crude oil and 3.186 billion cubic metres of natural gas in 2025-26. Its terminal crude production rate reached 10,566 tonnes a day, the highest in 14 years, following increased drilling, workover operations and reservoir-management measures.
The company drilled 74 wells during the year, including 22 exploratory and 52 development wells. Its reserve replacement ratio rose to 1.02. OIL expects annual oil and gas production to reach around 10 million tonnes of oil equivalent by the end of the decade.
In the first quarter of FY27, crude production increased 11 per cent year-on-year to 0.950 million tonnes, while daily crude production reached a record 10,921 tonnes.
OIL has an exploration footprint covering more than 100,000 square kilometres across onshore and offshore sedimentary basins. Its offshore portfolio includes the Andaman, Krishna-Godavari, Mahanadi and Kerala-Konkan basins, including ultra-deepwater acreage.
The company’s offshore plans coincide with the government’s recently approved Samudra Manthan – National Offshore Exploration Scheme, which has an outlay of Rs 84,084 crore through 2030-31 to accelerate seismic surveys and drilling in India’s offshore frontier.
In the Andaman basin, OIL established a natural gas occurrence at Sri Vijayapuram-2, followed by a gas discovery with continuous flaring at Sri Vijayapuram-3. The company described the results as encouraging evidence of an active petroleum system in the frontier basin.
OIL is preparing for future offshore drilling campaigns while developing its capabilities through advanced seismic evaluation and technology partnerships.
The company is also expanding its downstream and midstream operations. The expansion of Numaligarh Refinery Limited from 3 million tonnes to 9 million tonnes a year progressed during FY26, while the Numaligarh-Siliguri product pipeline capacity increased from 1.72 million tonnes to 5.5 million tonnes annually.
Consolidated profit after tax stood at Rs 7,551 crore in FY26, while consolidated net worth reached Rs 53,716 crore. The company declared a total dividend of Rs 11.50 per equity share and invested more than Rs 21,673 crore in exploration, production, refining, pipelines and strategic projects. Standalone PAT reached a record Rs 2,870 crore in the first quarter of FY27.
Alongside its hydrocarbon operations, OIL is developing lower-carbon businesses through OIL Green Energy Limited, including compressed biogas, Waste-to-Energy and renewable energy projects.
The company said the government’s GOBARdhan – National Circular Bioenergy Scheme, with an outlay of Rs 23,731 crore, could support these activities through measures covering assured offtake, pricing, capital assistance, pipeline connectivity, financing and technology.
OIL is pursuing several compressed biogas projects, including integrated CBG and Waste-to-Energy projects based on municipal solid waste.
The company reported an approximately 18 per cent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions from its FY24 baseline and a 32 per cent reduction in gas flaring as it works towards its Net Zero 2040 ambition. It is also participating in the MC² platform, a public-sector initiative aimed at supporting emerging energy technologies and developing domestic capabilities for the energy transition.
OIL’s strategy therefore combines higher production from existing assets with deeper exploration, expanded refining and pipeline infrastructure and investments in bioenergy and other lower-carbon sectors as the company seeks to broaden its energy portfolio.
