ONGC, IOC and other oil PSUs will invest about Rs 1.2 lakh crore (trillion) in the coming fiscal starting April 1 in oil and gas exploration, refineries, petrochemicals and laying pipelines.

The investment proposed in 2024-25 is 5 per cent higher than Rs 1.12 lakh crore spent by the state-owned oil firms in the current fiscal year that ends on March 31, according to Budget 2024-25 documents.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has a planned capital spending of Rs 30,800 crore in the next financial year.

This expenditure in finding new reserves of oil and gas and bringing to production discoveries it has already made is slightly higher than the Rs 30,500-crore capex in the 2023-24 fiscal (April 2023 to March 2024).

It is developing discoveries on the both east and west coasts of the country.

Indian Oil Corp, the country's top oil refiner, will be the top spender with an investment outlay of Rs 30,910 crore, with the bulk of it in expansion and upgrade of its seven refineries that produce fuel. This outlay also includes Rs 3,299 crore in the petrochemical business and another Rs 236.48 crore in the small oil and gas exploration portfolio it has.

PTI