Oil India Ltd Q1 FY27 Earnings Call: Guides 4 MMT Oil Output, NRL GRM Hits $35.95/bbl

Oil India Ltd held its Q1 FY27 earnings call on August 07, 2026. Here's a quick read of what management said — performance, strategy, and the outlook ahead.

Record Quarterly Performance Across All Key Metrics

• Standalone revenue of Rs.7,958 crore — highest ever since listing in FY10, driven by strong crude and gas realisations in Q1 FY27 (Segment 3).
• EBITDA of Rs.4,605 crore — margin expanded to 54% in Q1 FY27 vs 34% in Q1 FY26, reflecting the sharp jump in crude oil prices (Segment 3).
• PAT of Rs.2,870 crore and EPS of Rs.17.65 — vs Rs.5.00 in Q1 FY26, a 3.5x earnings surge year-on-year (Segment 3).
• Consolidated revenue of Rs.12,886 crore and PAT of Rs.4,026 crore — both highest ever since listing, anchored by NRL's record quarter (Segment 3).
• Crude oil realisation of $98.73/bbl — vs $26.2/bbl in Q1 FY26; natural gas price at $7.19/MMBtu vs $6.72/MMBtu (Segment 3).
• 17 new wells drilled in Q1 FY27 — comprising 7 exploratory and 10 development wells, part of the year's aggressive drilling programme (Segment 3).

Oil Output Hits Record Run-Rate; Gas offtake Remains Constrained

• Crude oil production of 0.95 MMT in Q1 FY27 — +11% YoY, with a daily record of 10,920 MT on 27 June 2026, further rising to 11,017 MT/day on 3 August 2026 (Segments 3, 4).
• Management targets ~1 MMT/quarter from Q2 FY26-27 onward — annualising to 4 MMT, achieving the "Mission 4 Plus" target (Segments 4, 9).
• Natural gas production declined 8% YoY in Q1 FY27 — primarily due to lower offtake from NEEPCO (gas-based power uneconomical vs hydro) and BCPL (subsidy-dependent petchem) (Segment 7).
• Up to 30 wells currently shut in due to demand constraints — when consumption is low, up to 60 wells are shut in, but these will "automatically ramp up once the network is ready" (Segment 10).
• Current per-barrel operating cost of $4.5–$5 — management targets a decline to ~$3.5 as new plants stabilise and throughput rises; contract costs rose Rs.146 crore sequentially due to GNG (G&G) offshore activities (Segment 11).
• No impact from recent floods — operations in Sivasagar and Saraydeo were unaffected (Segment 9).

Refinery Posts Record GRM; Expansion on Track for FY27-28 Ramp-Up

• NRL operating income of Rs.9,146 crore in Q1 FY27 — +45% YoY, with capacity utilisation of 105% and distillate yield of 87% (Segment 3).
• NRL GRM of $35.95/bbl in Q1 FY27 — vs $5.02/bbl in Q1 FY26, driven by high diesel-crude and MS-crude spreads, after discounts to OMCs (Segments 3, 5). Normalised GRM at $33/bbl (excluding ~Rs.2 crore inventory gain) vs historical average of $7–8/bbl (Segment 5).
• NRL provided discounts to OMCs linked to the SAD mechanism — petrol discount started at Rs.13/litre and ended at Rs.3/litre; diesel discount started at Rs.10/litre and ended at nil, calibrated monthly based on crude-product spreads (Segment 9).
• CDU/VDU unit mechanically completed in Q1 FY26-27 — awaiting statutory inspections (OISD, PESO) before startup; DAST and SRU units expected by October–November 2026; remaining units by March 31, 2027 (Segment 6).
• Production ramp-up to begin in FY27-28 — reaching ~75% of the 9 million tonnes rated capacity by end of FY27-28 (Q4) (Segment 6).
• NRL expansion capex of Rs.30,000 crore spent as of Q1 FY26-27 — total refinery project expected at Rs.34,000–Rs.35,000 crore, plus Rs.7,200–Rs.7,300 crore for the EPU project (Segment 6).

Aggressive Drilling Programme; Deepwater and Andaman Campaigns Advance

• FY26-27 target of 42 exploratory and 57 development wells — vs 22 exploratory and 52 development in FY25-26, nearly doubling the exploration count (Segment 5).
• Q1 FY26-27 capex of Rs.3,050 crore — exploratory drilling Rs.1,230 crore, development drilling Rs.350 crore; full-year budget of Rs.8,600 crore (Segment 5).
• Deepwater exploration: first rig arriving June–July 2027, second by March 2028 — targeting Mahanadi and KG basins; one stratigraphic well in Mahanadi in FY27-28 will be "Rs.800 crore government-sponsored" (Segment 5).
• Government's Samudra Manthan scheme — management cited "Government's Samudra Manthan scheme will reimburse up to Rs.675 crore per well for deep/ultra-deepwater drilling" and Rs.10,000 crore for common infrastructure (Segment 5).
• Total and Petrobras are independently interpreting seismic data — to de-risk prospects in the Andaman block and other ventures (Segments 5, 7).
• Andaman: Vijaypuram 1 hydrofrac testing results expected by September 2026 — Vijaypuram 3 testing completed in July 2026 post Q1; appraisal decision by April 2027 based on 300 sq km of 3D seismic data (Segments 7, 12). Vijaypuram 2 was previously written down; company retains option to sidetrack laterally up to 1,000–2,000 metres (Segment 12).

Pipeline Expansion to Unlock 5 BCM Production Potential

• DNP becoming a common carrier via PNGRB mandate — a 200-metre pipeline link to IGGL expected within 2–3 months (by ~Q3 FY26-27), enabling access to the national gas grid (Segment 4).
• BNPL pipeline capacity to be augmented from 1 MMSCMD to 2 MMSCMD — then to 2.5 MMSCMD after a short shutdown, adding ~1.5 MMSCMD evacuation capacity (Segment 4).
• IGGL pipeline targeted for completion by December 2027 (Q3 FY27-28) — providing full evacuation for an additional 3.5–4 MMSCMD of gas (Segment 4).
• DFL pipeline: 20% progress as of Q1 FY26-27 — once connected, management expects to reach "5 BCM production from day one, noting that production potential is not a constraint; the network is" (Segments 8, 10).
• NRL expected to consume an additional 1.5 MMSCMD of gas — starting in Q2 or Q3 of FY27-28, driven by the refinery expansion (Segment 4).
• Long-term gas production target of 5 BCM achievable by FY28-29 (Q1 FY29) — with a step-up in the first quarter of that fiscal year as pipeline infrastructure comes online (Segment 4).

Production Guidance, Regulatory Overhangs, and Debt Profile

• FY27-28 natural gas production guidance of 3.8 BCM — all incremental production from new-well pricing as APM allocation is exhausted (Segment 10).
• Oil production guidance for FY26-27: minimum 3.9 MMT, potential to reach 4 MMT — quarterly production close to 1 MMT; management targets ~4.2 MMT for FY28-29 via near-field exploration, workovers, and enhanced recovery (Segments 9, 11).
• GST on royalty: principal of ~Rs.2,500 crore to be paid in Q2 FY26-27 — already provisioned in P&L since July 2017; court granted six weeks to settle, with no interest required (Segment 13).
• Government of Assam has given an undertaking to withdraw the Assam land tax law — management stated "Government of Assam has given an undertaking to withdraw the Assam land tax law"; booked as contingent liability, to be removed upon repeal (Segment 13).
• Group-level total debt of Rs.37,233 crore — comprising NRL debt (Rs.19,000+ crore), $1.4 billion Mozambique loan (standalone), and $550 million bond from a Singapore subsidiary due May 27, 2027 (FY27-28) (Segment 6).
• Paradip–Numaligarh pipeline: ~8 km of ROU pending — mechanical completion targeted for October 2026, commissioning for December 2026 (both FY26-27) (Segment 6).