According to reports from NDTV Profit, ICICI Securities remains selectively positive on the oil and gas sector following the Q4 FY26 earnings season. The brokerage's oil and gas coverage universe, excluding Reliance Industries Ltd. and Gujarat State Petronet Ltd., showed Q4 FY26 Ebitda/PAT improved 22%/31% YoY (+2%/-4% QoQ). The rise in Ebitda was driven by strong year-on-year growth in oil marketing companies, city gas distribution, and Gulf Oil Lubricants, while upstream and utility segments reported relatively weaker operating profit.
As reported by NDTV Profit, the ongoing US-Iran conflict blocking the Strait of Hormuz has impacted LNG shipments from Qatar and 15–20mb/d of global oil flow in March 2026, dragging March performance. According to the brokerage, absent this event, Q4 FY26 would have been even stronger for the sector. However, the persistently high oil and gas prices/tight supplies could impact Q1 FY27E performance materially for the sector.
According to the ICICI Securities report, the brokerage remains selective in its approach and has identified ONGC, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. as top picks as of now. These selections reflect the strong performance by oil marketing companies and city gas distributors that drove overall growth in the sector during the earnings season. The brokerage's selective approach highlights its confidence in the performance of these companies despite broader market challenges.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) will shut a 120,000-barrel-per-day crude unit and some secondary processing units at its Mumbai refinery in November for planned maintenance, as reported by The Times of India citing industry sources. This scheduled maintenance at the key Mumbai facility could impact BPCL's refining operations during the maintenance period, though the company has planned the shutdown for November to minimize operational disruption.
