ONGC’s executive director and joint ventures and business development chief D Adhikari conveyed the company's intention to invest in two projects spanning two states by 2028 or 2030 with an intention to grow its petrochemical capacity to 8.5-9 million tonnes by the end of this decade

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ONGC has disclosed its intentions to develop two separate petrochemical projects in India. (Credit: James Glen from Pixabay)

India’s state-owned energy firm Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has unveiled plans to invest more than INR1 trillion ($12bn) in developing two petrochemical projects in the country by 2030.

The plants will be designed to directly convert crude oil into high-value chemical products, in line with ONGC’s strategic preparations for energy transition. In August this year, it was reported that the company is planning to spend over $24bn in clean energy projects with an aim to fulfill its objectives of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2038.

ONGC’s latest investment plan was disclosed during an investor call on its second-quarter earnings of the fiscal year 2023-2024 (Q2 FY’24).

Its executive director and joint ventures and business development chief D Adhikari conveyed the company’s intention to invest in two projects spanning two states by 2028 or 2030.

Adhikari revealed that the company’s intends to grow its petrochemical capacity to 8.5-9 million tonnes by the end of this decade.

Pomila Jaspal, the finance director of ONGC, stated that the company is also pursuing the development of separate oil-to-chemical (O2C) projects.

However, Jaspal refrained from providing additional details.

The development of the O2C projects is anticipated to be facilitated through joint venture models, with ONGC financing its respective share.

For Q2 FY’24, ONGC reported net profit of INR165.53bn ($2bn), which is an increase of 142.4% compared to INR68.3bn ($820m) in Q2 FY’23.

ONGC’s gross revenue during the reported quarter was INR14,687.4bn ($176.45bn), which is a 13% decline compared to INR16,865.6bn ($202.6bn) in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.