New Delhi: Oil India Limited (OIL) said it expects progress on bringing back nearly USD 300 million in dividend payouts stuck in Russia, marking its first public indication of a timeline for repatriation. A senior official told investors during a recent post-earnings call that the company anticipates “positive news by early next financial year” as it evaluates compliant mechanisms to move the blocked funds out of Russia.
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The management said the amount remains locked due to counter-measures on outward remittances, but discussions are underway to find a route that satisfies regulatory conditions.
The company has cut its FY26 crude oil production forecast after an ethnic-group blockade in the North-East restricted staff access and forced the temporary shutdown of several wells. An executive said production had dropped to “around 8,100 mt per day” at the height of the blockade before improving to “roughly 9,600 mt per day” once operations partially normalised. He said the company had “revised the production target accordingly”.
Oil India has lowered its crude output target from 3.776 MMT to 3.55 MMT. Gas output guidance remains unchanged, though the company noted seasonal demand variability, particularly from tea gardens, limits near-term utilisation.
The company confirmed its withdrawal from two overseas upstream assets. A senior official said the JV with ONGC in Bangladesh is “fully exiting”, while the Gabon offshore block is already “in the closure stage”, with no major additional expenses expected. The exits reflect a strategic pullback from non-core international E&P ventures, executives indicated.
Oil India said the DNPL pipeline expansion has achieved mechanical completion and remains on track for commissioning before April 2026. The management said that the company is awaiting PESO and PNGRB clearances.
A senior project official said the final connectivity step requires a “seven-day shutdown for hooking up the line”, after which the expanded pipeline system can be brought into service to support higher gas evacuation volumes. The pipeline currently supplies 1.2 MMSCMD of natural gas. Post-expansion, the volumes are expected to go up to 2–2.5 MMSCMD.
Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) said its ongoing expansion will significantly increase its natural gas requirement. An executive said NRL’s intake — currently about 0.9–1 MMSCMD — will rise to “up to 3 MMSCMD” once the expanded facility ramps up.
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NRL expects to begin taking crude into the expanded refinery in December 2025, with stable throughput expected from the second quarter of FY27. The company also clarified that its first planned shutdown will be scheduled in FY27, not during commissioning.
