State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)—country’s largest oil marketing firm—plans to invest Rs 5,500 crore in the current fiscal to further strengthen its pre-dominant share in down-stream sector of domestic oil market.
“The capital investment  would be for laying of pipelines and upgrading and setting up refineries” IOC Chairman & Managing Director Sarthak Behuria told reporters here while announcing the IOC’s financial performance during 2006-07.
He also indicated that the IOC would make some provisions for acquiring oil assets as well as companies broad. Meanwhile, the company posted a 60 per cent drop in net profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2007 at Rs 1,609.67 crore, even as it became the nation’s only firm to cross the Rs 200,000 crore yearly revenue mark. The company reported a net profit of Rs 4,030.57 crore during the fourth quarter previous year. Revenues in the quarter ended March 31 rose to Rs 55,412.07 crore as against Rs 51,420.3 crore.
Net profit in 2006-07 grew 52.5 per cent to Rs 7,499.47 crore from Rs 4,915.12 crore in 2005-06, Mr Behuria said. Total income soared to Rs 2,17,533.82 crore in the year ended March 31, 2007 owing to a 22 per cent rise in sales. The income during the previous year stood at Rs 1,77,473.82 crore.
Capital outlay
Asked about IOC’s road map for the capital plan outlay in coming years, he said the IOC has projected a capital outlay of Rs 43,250 crore by 2012.
This includes an investment of Rs 25,215 crore for setting up refineries, Rs 11,879 core for putting up petrochemicals, Rs 3,275 crore towards exploration of oil and gas fields and Rs 1,290 crore towards laying pipelines for carrying petroleum products.
In a bid to become a $60 billion turnover company by 2011-12, IOC is setting up a massive petrochemical hub at Panipat in Haryana in collaboration with the state government, he said.