A PROJECT REPORT ON

“WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

OF
OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATION (ONGC)”

PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF
MASTERS IN MANAGEMENT STUDIES
MUMBAI UNIVERSITY

Submitted By
ANKUR JAIN
(MMS- Finance)
MET’s INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

MET COMPLEX, BANDRA RECLAMATION, BANDRA(W) MUMBAI-400050

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 CONTENTS

Student’s declaration 3
Acknowledgement 4
Executive Summary 5
Company profile 6
Methodology used 8
Concept of working capital 9
Factors Determining Working Capital Requirements 12
Working Capital Policy 16
Current Assets & Current Liabilities 19
Inventory Management 20
Cash Management 23
Receivables Management 26
Ratio Analysis 27
Suggestion 31
Bibliography 32

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 STUDENTS DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project report entitles:

‘WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT IN ONGC’

Conducted at

ONGC office, Bandra kurla complex, Mumbai, submitted in partial fulfillment at the

requirements for the degree of Master of Management Studies (M.M.S.) to MET’s

Institute of Management Mumbai is my original work and not submitted for the award of

any other degree, diploma, fellowship or similar title or prize.

Date :

Place :

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

With warm regards, I would like to thanks Mr. CHANDRANATH S.I, Chief Manager

ONGC, for the encouragement and guidance continuously provided by him to undergo

my vocational training in this esteemed organization. The present project work; a study of

working capital management in ONGC, deals with the problem faced in financial

management and gives the solution of the same, which is basic for organization whether

Govt. Public or Private sector.

I owe my special thanks to Mr. subir tete for providing valuable ideas and suggestions

which enabled me to prepare this report.

(ANKUR JAIN)

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Working Capital is the lifeblood and controlling nerve of an organization. ONGC

being a large organization, dealing in exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons
requires a large amount of funds. The complexity and risks involved in exploration
business like whole procedure of search of oil, geographical and physical
conditions, day to day reduction in oil reserves and many other things tend to
maintain a substantial amount of working capital. Hence there is a need for proper
management of working capital, so that day by day operations do not hamper; at
the same time there would not be any idle investment in working capital.

In this project, a modest attempt has been made to analyze the trend in working
capital of ONGC during last five years i.e. from 2004-05 to 2008-09.

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 COMPANY PROFILE
Oil and natural gas corporation ltd., a “Maharatana” public sector enterprise is one of the leading
enterprises in the country with significant contributors to industrial and economic growth.
ONGC is in the business of exploration and production (E&P) of hydrocarbons.
ONGC is India’s highest profit making company with record profit exceeding Rs. 16000 crores
in the financial year 2009. ONGC has its headquarters at Dehradun and registered office at New
Delhi. Its operation is spread all over the country-east to west and north to south and employees
over 33000 trained man power.
ONGC undertakes socio-economic activities in area where it operates as a part of its social
responsibility. The activities include, grants in aid to agencies educational institutes, social
welfare organizations development of infrastructure by constructing roads, bridges and
plantation of trees etc.
ONGC has two subsidiaries as ONGC VIDESH LTD. (OVL) and MANGALORE REFINERY
AND PETROCHEMICAL LTD. (MRPL).

GLOBAL RANKING:

 ONGC ranks as the Numero Uno Oil & Gas Exploration & Production (E&P) Company
in Asia, as per Platts 250 Global Energy Companies List for the year 2008.
 ONGC ranks 23rd Leading Global Energy Major amongst the “Top 250 Energy Majors of
the World in the Platt’s List” based on outstanding performance in respect of Assets,
Revenues, Profits and Return on Invested Capital (RIOC) for the year 2008.
 ONGC has 9th position in the Industry of Mining, crude oil production.
 ONGC ranks 239th position in the prestigious Forbes Global 2000 and Numero Uno
ranking amongst Indian Companies.
 ONGC retains Numero Uno position from India in terms of Profits with overall global
ranking of 121st.

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  ONGC ranks 21st among the top 50 publicly traded Companies in Oil & Gas Industry,
based on the year-end market Capitalization by PFC Energy.
 CRISIL and ICRA also reaffirmed ONGC the highest credit rating of AAA and LAAA
respectively.

Products of ONGC are:

1. Crude Oil
2. Gas
3. LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas)
4. Natural Gas
5. Natural gas liquid
6. Aromatic naphtha
7. Superior kerosene oil
8. C2-C3 (Ethane -propane)

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (2008-09):

Networth: Rs. 780,848 million
Sales Revenue: Rs. 650,494 million
Profit After Tax (PAT): Rs. 161,263 million
Return on Capital Employed: 50%
Debt Equity Ratio: 0.0003:1
Earning Per Share: Rs. 75.40
Book value Per Share: Rs. 365

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 METHODOLOGY USED

Methodology of the study refers to the methods used to collect the required data for

research work. The data required has been collected from the following sources:

PRIMARY SOURCES:

Discussions with the management. Briefings with the concerned officers.

SECONDARY SOURCES:

 The secondary data of the organization helped me a lot. I have collected all the

figures from the Annual Reports and Financial Statements of ONGC.

 Records of the company: This helped me to get details regarding the history of

the organization.

 Library Research: A number of books on finance were referred to collect

theoretical background related to finance.

 ONGC LTD website: www.ongcindia.com

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 CONCEPTS OF WORKING CAPITAL

There are two concepts of working capital namely, Gross concept and Net concept.

GROSS WORKING CAPITAL

According to this concept, working capital refers to the firm's investment in current

assets. The amount of current liabilities is not deducted from the total of current assets.

This concept views Working Capital and aggregate of Current Assets as two inter-

changeable terms. This concept is also referred to as 'Current Capital' or 'Circulating

Capital’.

Gross Working Capital = Total Current Assets

NET WORKING CAPITAL

The Net Working Capital refers to the difference between Current Assets and Current

Liabilities or the excess of Current Assets over Current Liabilities.

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Net Working Capital = Current Assets - Current Liabilities

CURRENT ASSETS are assets, which are reasonably expected to be realized in cash or

sold or consumed during the normal operating cycle.

The Current Assets are acquired with the intention of sale or conversion into cash. They

include:

 Cash

 Inventories

 Bills Receivable

 Prepaid Expenses

 Accrued Income

 Marketable Securities

CURRENT LIABILITIES represent the obligations of the business and arise in the

ordinary- course of operating business. They are expected to be payable within one year.

These liabilities are generally said to have claim over Current Assets and must be

discharged out of Current Assets.

They include:

 Creditors

 Bills Payable

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  Short term Loans

 Advance Payments

Net Working Capital can be positive or negative. A positive Net Working Capital would

arise when Current Assets Exceed Current Liabilities. A negative Net Working Capital

occurs when Current Liabilities are in excess of Current Assets.

'Net Working Capital' is a qualitative concept, which indicates the liquidity position of

the firm and the extent to which Working Capital needs may be financed by permanent

sources of funds.

Current Assets should be sufficiently in excess of current liabilities to constitute a margin

or buffer for obligations maturing within the ordinary operating cycle of a business. A

weak liquidity position poses a threat to the solvency of the company and makes it

unsafe. Excessive liquidity is also bad. It may be due to mismanagement of Current

Assets. Therefore, prompt and timely action should be taken by the management to

improve and correct the imbalance in the liquidity of the firm.

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 FACTORS DETERMINING WORKING CAPITAL
REQUIREMENTS

The Working Capital needs of a firm are determined and influenced by various factors.

Following are some of the factors which are relevant in determining the working capital

needs of the firm:

 Nature of Business

Trading concerns usually have smaller needs of working capital as most of the

transactions are undertaken in cash and the length of operating cycle is generally

small. However, in certain cases, large inventories of goods may be required and

consequently, the working capital may be large. In case of financial concerns there

may not be stock of goods but these firms do have to maintain sufficient liquidity

all the times. In case of manufacturing 'concerns, there is a requirement of

substantial working capital as operating cycle is usually a longer one and sales are

made generally on credit terms.

ONGC is in the business of exploration and production (E & P) of

hydrocarbons. E&P business require large capital expenditure in the

development of platforms, rigs, pipelines etc. to extract the oil lying down

beneath the earth crust. so huge amount of money gets blocked in the form of

machinery forming fixed assets of the company. Hence, it can be said that

high initial investment is required in the business.

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 Business Cycle Fluctuations

In case of boom conditions, inflationary pressure appears and business activities

expand and working capital requirement is more. In case of recession period, there

is dullness in business activities and working capital requirement is less.

In one of the worst global recessions witnessed by the world in 2008-09, ONGC has

not only stood up the pressure but also help the Indian economy to get back to the

track. There were not major fluctuations in the business cycle of ONGC and entire

working of capital management went swiftly.

 Seasonal Operations

If a firm is operating in goods and services having seasonal fluctuations in

demand, then the working capital requirement will also fluctuate with every

change. e.g. for a cold drink factory demand is higher during summer season and

working capital requirement is more. If the operations are smooth and even

throughout the year then the working capital requirement will be constant.

Being an oil exploration & production company, operations of ONGC go on

throughout the year as demand of oil is very high as compared to its supply.

So the requirement of working capital almost remains constant throughout

the year.
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 Market Competitiveness

In view of the competitive conditions prevailing in the market, the firm may have

to offer liberal credit terms to the customers, or even larger inventories may be

maintained. Thus the working capital requirement is higher. A monopolistic firm

may not require large working capital. It may ask the customers to pay in advance

or to wait for someone after placing the order.

In terms of the market competitiveness, ONGC has the major chunk of

market share. Although there are some other E&P companies also working

such as OIL (OIL INDIA LTD.), CAIRNS ENERGY, RIL (RELIANCE

INDUSTRIES LTD.) but the very low production of crude oil by these

companies as compared to ONGC makes the ONGC nearly monopoly firm in

the market.

 Credit Policy

The credit policy means the totality of terms and conditions on which goods are

sold and purchased. A firm has to interact with two types of credit policies at a

time. One, the credit policy of the supplier and two, the credit policy which it

extended to its customers.

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 ONGC has the very strict credit policy for the OMC’s such as IOC (INDIAN

OIL CRPORATION), HPCL (HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM CORP. LTD.),

BPCL (BHARAT PETROLEUM CORP. LTD.), GAIL (GAS AUTHORITY

OF INDIA LTD.). ONGC gives the credit period of 15 days for the supply of

crude oil and 7 days credit period for the natural gas.

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WORKING CAPITAL POLICY FOLLOWED AT ONGC

There are three types of working capital policies which a firm may adopt i.e. Moderate

working capital policy, Conservative working capital policy and Aggressive working

capital policy. These policies describe the relationship between sales level and the level

of current assets.

CURRENT ASSETS

Conservative

Moderate

Aggressive

SALES LEVEL

Different types of Working Capital policies

ONGC follows the MODERATE Working Capital policy, as the increase in sales result

in proportionate change in current assets. . This means that percentage increase in sales

(5.46%) is nearly equal to increase in current assets (4.1%).

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The calculations are as follows:

SALES (Rs. in crores) for 2007-08: 61,542

For 2008-09: 65,049

Increase in Sales = 65049 -61542

= 3507

Percentage Increase in Sales = 3507/61542*100

= 5.46%

CURRENT ASSETS (Rs. in crores)

For 2007: 32,225

For 2008: 33,495

Increase in Current Assets = 33495 - 32225

= 1270

Percentage Increase in Current Assets = 1270 / 32225 * 100

= 4.1%

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This type of Policy has many implications:

 The risk of insolvency of the firm decreases as the firm maintains higher liquidity.

 The firm is exposed to lower risk, as it may be able to face unexpected change in the

market.

 Increased investment in current assets will result in decrease in profitability of the firm.

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 CURRENT ASSETS & CURRENT LIABILITIES OF ONGC

600000

500000

400000

300000 current assets

current liabilities
200000
working capita
100000

0
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09

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 INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

Nature of Inventory

Inventory in ONGC has been broadly classified into two groups:

a) Stores

b) Spares

STORE section comprises of Drill pipes and Casing pipes; Electrical material such as cables,

insulating material etc. ; Chemicals, oil, grease, lubricants whereas SPARES section comprises of

spare parts of drilling equipments, production equipments, geological equipments, workshop,

machinery etc.

POLICY:

1) Inventory of stores and spares is valued at weighted average cost or net realizable value

whichever is less.

2) Liability in foreign currency is booked at exchange rate prevailing on date of transaction.

RECOUPMENT OF MATERIALS:

Recoupment of stores and spares is done on the basis of ABC ANALYSIS. For this, Numerical

ledger cards are maintained by all material management (MM) organizations in the project. Cards

indicate the minimum and maximum levels (safety stock, E.O.Q) for the purpose of automatic

replenishment. Also these cards consist of the last two years total consumption and month wise

for the current year so that past and current consumption figures are readily available.

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Review of each card is conducted at the following stages:

1) When the stocks and dues of item reach the minimum level. This is a must.

2) At time when physical stocks reach the safety stock level.

3) Irrespective of above two stages, each card should be reviewed annually.

4) In addition to above one should take note of any abnormal issue viz. variation of over 20%

consumption over 6 months period.

In order to have an effective control over inventories, the minimum and maximum limits of stores

and spares are fixed as:

MINIMUM LEVEL: It varies from item to item and range from 0-3 months.

MAXIMUM LEVEL: The maximum the quantity to be recouped at a time should be limited to 6

months.

Quantity required to be recouped should be = Max. (E.O.Q) – stock – dues on order +

known pending demands, if any.

STOCKING OF MATERIALS:

1) All materials are kept in racks / bins.

2) All racks / bins are given numbers. Same is to be recorded on cards.

3) While stocking materials, heavier item will be kept at lower rungs of rack and lighter on

higher ones.

4) Fast moving item should be stored at easily accessible place and to nearest point of issue.

5) Stocking of items follow the principle of “FIRST IN FIRST OUT” (FIFO).

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Raw Material Storage Period (2008-09)

1) Annual Consumption of Raw Material= Rs. 23889.07 million

2) Average Daily Consumption = (Annual Consumption) / 365 of Raw Materials

= 23889.07 / 365

= Rs. 64.45 million

3) Average Stock of Raw Material = (Opening Stock + Closing Stock) / 2 Material

= 29881.29 + 34860.59
2

= Rs. 32371 million

4) Raw Material Storage = Average Stock of R.M./Average Daily

Period Consumption of R.M. (Raw Material)

= 32371 / 64.45

= 502 days

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 CASH MANAGEMENT

CASH FORECASTING

As per the existing practice, cash forecast is prepared at Corporate Accounts Section (CAS) after
compiling the cash forecasts of all project locations and considering all other payments and
receipts of the company on a composite basis.
Figure 1 herewith outlines the inflows and outflows that are used in the preparation of
the cash forecast.

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Raising of short term funds

The Company raises short term funds as and when required in accordance with the decisions
taken by the Board of Directors (BoD) of the Company. The following sources/instruments are
Used for these borrowings:
a) Cash Credit/ Over Draft
b) Inter-corporate borrowings;
c) Commercial papers; and
d) Certificate of deposit.

Inter-corporate borrowings are made using an inter office memo including details of amount to be
borrowed by the Company, terms and conditions, period and rate of interest. Subsequently a BoD
resolution is passed to approve the borrowing.

Commercial papers are unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations and foreign
governments. These are low cost alternatives to bank loans for large credit issuers such as the
Company. It is usually not used to finance long-term investments but rather for purchases for
inventory or to manage working capital.

Certificate of deposit is a document evidencing a time deposit placed with a depository institution
and contains details of amount of deposit, date of maturity, rate of interest, and the method under
which the interest is calculated.

Average Collection Period (figures in millions)

Sales: Rs. 636,187

Average Sundry Debtors: Rs. 40,838

Operating Cycle: Sales/Avg. Sundry Debtors

= 636,187/40,838
= 15.57

Debtors Turnover Ratio: 360/Operating Cycle

= 360/15.57
= 23 days

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 RECEIVABLES MANAGEMENT

CREDIT POLICY

The first step for implementing credit policy will be gather credit information about customers.
This information should be adequate enough so that proper analysis about the financial position
of customer is possible. This credit information will certainly help in improving the quality of
receivables. The information should be available from financial statements, credit rating agencies,
Reports firm’s banks, firm’s records etc.

CREDIT PERIOD

a) Crude Oil: For local refineries i.e BPCL & HPCL invoice is raised on the weekly basis.
The billing to coastal refineries is done on the date of bill of lading.

Receipt is received on the following basis:

Pipeline supply (Local I week II week III week IV week

refineries) th
25 of same 2nd of next 11th of next 18th of next
month month month month
Tanker supply (coastal 30 days from bill of lading
refineries

b) Natural Gas: Invoice is raised on the fortnightly basis.1st fortnight is 1st day of the month to
15th of the month and 2nd fortnight is 16th day of the month to last day of the month.
Payment is done within 7 days of bill of lading.

PAYMENT COLLECTION FROM THE REFINERIES

Age-wise dues to be received from the debtors are properly maintained. On delayed payments
from debtors a debit note for interest is send to the concerned refinery.

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 RATIO ANALYSIS

Current Ratio: This ratio is an indicator of the firm’s commitment to meet its short-term
liabilities. The current ratio is the ratio of current assets and current liabilities.
Formula = Current assets
Current liabilities

Standard Ratio: 2:1

2004-2005 Current Ratio = 285477 = 2.62:1

108763

2005-2006 Current Ratio = 326279 = 3.08:1

105951

2006-2007 Current Ratio = 387850 = 2.77:1

139932

2007-2008 Current Ratio = 498331 = 2.47:1

176083

2008-2009 Current Ratio = 546000 = 2.26:1

211051

current ratio
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09

Interpretation:
The financial performance of the company is very sound as the ratio is above 2:1 but still

Company’s current ratio is more than standard ratio so company should control assets as it is not

better for the health of the company. This decreasing trend could be seen from the graph which is

for the betterment of the company.

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Working capital turnover ratio: This ratio indicates whether working capital has been
effectively utilized in sales or not. So we should know it by calculating following ratio:
Formula = Total sales
Net Working capital

Here, net working capital = current assets - current liabilities

2004-2005 Working Capital Turnover Ratio = 472454 = 2.22:1

212895

2005-2006 Working Capital Turnover Ratio = 494397 = 1.86:1

265664

2006-2007 Working Capital Turnover Ratio = 482444 = 1.59:1

304021

2007-2008 Working Capital Turnover Ratio = 601373 = 1.86:1

322248

2008-2009 Working Capital Turnover Ratio = 639493 = 1.91:1

334949

working capital turnover ratio

2.5

1.5 working capital turnover ratio

0.5

0
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09

Interpretation:
The company’s working capital position is moderate in last five years. Position of company has
become better and company is able to meet its current obligation whenever it is required.

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Debt Equity ratio: This ratio tells about the position of total debt of the company with respect to
the total equity.
Formula = Debt
Equity Shareholder Funds

2004-2005 Debt Equity Ratio = 1490 = 0.003:1

463142

2005-2006 Debt Equity Ratio = 1069 = 0.002:1

535934

2006-2007 Debt Equity Ratio = 696 = 0.001:1

614099

2007-2008 Debt Equity Ratio =369 = 0.001:1

699435

2008-2009 Debt Equity Ratio = 267 = 0.0003:1

780848

Debt Equity ratio

0
0
0
0 Debt Equity ratio
0
0
0
0
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09

Interpretation:
The declining trend of the debt equity ratio is favorable for the health of the company as it means
that total debt is reducing with every passing year and company is operating on their own capital.
Also the figure is not very high. For the year 2008-09 it is only 0.0003 which makes ONGC
nearly DEBT FREE COMPANY.

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Return on capital employed: This ratio tell that how effectively a company is making use of its
resources. It gives the return on the total amount of money that is infused in an organization.
Formula = PBIDT
Total capital employed
2004-2005 Return on Capital Employed = 246784 = 59%
419926

2005-2006 Return on Capital Employed = 283731 = 58%

493763

2006-2007 Return on Capital Employed = 306465 = 57%

540744

2007-2008 Return on Capital Employed =314790 = 52%

604844

2008-2009 Return on Capital Employed = 319684 = 50%

640583

Return on Capital Employed

60
58
56
54 Return on Capital Employed
52
50
48
46
44
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09

Interpretation:
Although the profit of company has increased in the last five years but the total return on the
capital employed has come down from 59% in 2004-05 to 50% in 2008-09. ROCE is
continuously decreasing. This is because of the increase in investments in oil producing
properties such as basins and oil fields which has lead to decrease in ROCE despite of increasing
profits.

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 SUGGESTIONS

1) Return on the capital employed is decreasing continuously over the last 5 years. This is
because of the increase investments in producing properties such as basins and oil fields
leading to decrease in the ROCE. To arrest this decreasing trend the company may
probably explore and adopt more cost effective technology for its activities.

2) The high current ratio from the standard indicates that additional amount of money is
blocked in the current assets than required. So there are possibilities of using this blocked
money in normal business activities which expected to fetch more return.

3) The portion of inventory needs greater attention. The corporation sometimes face problem
of excess stock of one type of inventory. This is because of the high lead time of certain
casing and drill pipes making the inventory storage period very high.

4) The business of the corporation is such that the working capital of the corporation tends to
go high. Therefore it is important to have a more accurate method of cash forecasting.

5) ONGC being nearly a debt free company is not utilizing its strength for capturing fund
from market through debt instead using own fund for normal business activity. In the
process it is losing its leveraging capability.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Khan M.Y. and Jain P.K., Financial Management (Tata McGraw – Hill Publishing Company

Limited, New Delhi)

 Prasanna Chandra., Financial Management (Tata McGraw – Hill Publishing Company

Limited, New Delhi)

 Annual Reports of the ONGC.

 www.ongcreports.net

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