Oil & Gas Stocks in India

What are oil and gas stocks?

Oil and gas stocks span the whole energy chain: upstream companies that explore for and produce crude oil and natural gas; downstream refiners and oil marketing companies that turn crude into petrol, diesel and other fuels and sell them; gas transmission companies and city gas distributors that pipe gas to homes, vehicles and industry; and coal producers, grouped here as consumable fuels.

Several of the largest companies in the sector are government-owned public sector undertakings (PSUs), and government policy on fuel prices, gas pricing and taxes plays a large role in their profits. Many of them pay regular dividends.

What moves oil and gas stocks

Crude oil prices

Higher crude prices help producers but raise costs for refiners and marketers, who may not be able to pass them on to consumers immediately.

Refining margins

The gross refining margin (GRM) is the difference between the value of fuels a refinery produces and the cost of the crude it processes, usually quoted in dollars per barrel.

Marketing margins

The margin oil marketing companies earn on each litre of petrol and diesel sold, which depends on how retail prices track crude prices.

Gas pricing and policy

Government formulas set the price of much of the gas produced in India, and policy on gas allocation, taxes and duties shapes profits across the chain.

What to check before investing in oil and gas stocks

Where the company sits in the chain

Producers, refiners, marketers and gas distributors react to crude prices in different, often opposite, ways.

Dividend yield

Annual dividend per share divided by the share price. Many oil and gas PSUs are known for high dividend payouts.

Volume growth (for city gas)

City gas distributors grow by connecting more homes and CNG vehicles and adding industrial customers; watch volume growth and the spread between gas cost and selling price.

Energy transition

How the company is preparing for lower fossil-fuel demand over time - investments in renewables, green hydrogen, biofuels and petrochemicals.

Risks to know

Oil and gas profits swing with volatile global energy prices. For government-owned companies, policy decisions - such as holding fuel prices steady when crude rises - can override commercial logic. Over the long term, the shift to electric vehicles and cleaner energy is a structural risk to fossil-fuel demand.

How to invest in oil & gas stocks

1. 1

   Open a demat and trading account

   A demat account holds your shares electronically; a trading account lets you buy and sell them. With GoPocket you can open both online in a few minutes with your PAN, Aadhaar and bank details.

2. 2

   Add money

   Transfer funds to your trading account by UPI or net banking.

3. 3

   Research the company

   Pick a company from the list above and open its page to see its share price chart, financial performance and shareholding before you decide. Compare it with other oil & gas stocks on business quality, debt, growth and valuation.

4. 4

   Place your order

   Search for the stock in the GoPocket app or web platform, choose the quantity, and place a delivery order to hold the shares in your demat account. A limit order lets you set the most you are willing to pay.

5. 5

   Track and review

   Follow the company's quarterly results and news. Spreading your money across several companies and sectors reduces the damage if one investment goes wrong.

Terms used on this page

LTP

Last traded price - the price at which the stock last changed hands. The figure below it is the change from the previous day's close.

Market cap

Market capitalisation: share price multiplied by the number of shares issued. It measures a company's size in the market and is shown here in rupees crore (1 crore = 1,00,00,000).

Cap band

Whether a company is large, mid, small or micro cap, based on its market capitalisation. Larger companies tend to be less volatile.

Sector and industry

The NSE groups companies into broad sectors (such as Financial Services) and narrower industries within them (such as Banks), based on what they mainly do.

Trading graph

How the share price has moved during the latest trading session, from the 9:15 open to the 3:30 close. The dashed line is the previous day's closing price.