Is it true that ONGC has become the second most profitable company in India?

For the March 2022 quarter, ONGC reported all-time high net profits of Rs40,305 crore on the back of record realizations per barrel of crude. This made ONGC, the second most profitable company in India after Reliance Industries. It has now surpassed even TCS and Tata Steel in terms of net profits for the full year.

The average crude realization for FY22 stood at a healthy $76.62/bbl as against Rs42.78/bbl in FY21. In 2008, you would probably recollect that ONGC had seen record high crude prices but its net realizations were sharply lower at that point of time as it was then forced to provide subsidies to fuel retailers. However, although ONGC now prices crude at global rates, the introduction of windfall tax on ONGC would mean that you are back to Square One.