India’s oil industry remains central to transport, manufacturing, aviation, petrochemicals and household energy even as renewable power and electric mobility expand. India is now the world’s fourth-largest refiner, with 258.1 million tonnes per annum of installed capacity across 22 operational refineries. Petroleum-product consumption reached 243.2 million tonnes in FY2025-26, while exports stood at 61.5 million tonnes, showing that India is both a huge fuel market and an important global refining centre.
The industry includes very different businesses. Upstream companies such as ONGC and Oil India explore for and produce crude oil and natural gas. Refiners such as IndianOil, BPCL, HPCL, Reliance and Nayara convert crude into petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel, LPG and petrochemicals. Several companies also operate pipelines, terminals and large fuel-retail networks.
Here are the Top 10 Oil Companies in India in 2026, selected for refining or production scale, FY2025-26 financial performance, retail and infrastructure reach, strategic importance and future expansion.
1. Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IndianOil)
IndianOil takes the top position because no other Indian oil company combines comparable refining, pipeline and fuel-marketing scale.
In FY2025-26, revenue from operations reached ₹8,86,224 crore, while net profit increased to ₹36,802 crore. IndianOil processed a record 75.45 million tonnes of crude oil and achieved total sales of 105.12 million tonnes. Its domestic petroleum-product sales alone reached 88.97 million tonnes.
Its extensive pipeline system, Indane LPG network and thousands of fuel stations make IndianOil critical to everyday energy supply. It is also investing in petrochemicals, biofuels, green hydrogen, EV charging and cleaner-energy businesses.
2. Reliance Industries – Oil-to-Chemicals
Reliance Industries is a diversified conglomerate, but its Oil-to-Chemicals business is large enough to rank among India’s biggest oil operations independently.
For FY2025-26, O2C revenue increased 5.7% to ₹6,62,401 crore, while EBITDA rose 10.1% to ₹60,546 crore.
The Jamnagar complex is one of the world’s largest refining and petrochemical hubs. Reliance’s ability to process different crude grades, integrate refining with chemicals and serve both domestic and export markets gives it a different model from India’s public-sector fuel marketers.
3. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)
ONGC is India’s most important upstream oil and gas producer. Its primary strength is exploration and production rather than petrol-pump retailing.
For FY2025-26, ONGC reported consolidated gross revenue of about ₹6,62,247 crore and consolidated net profit of ₹49,793 crore. Standalone gross revenue was approximately ₹1,32,509 crore and standalone net profit ₹32,894 crore.
Its importance goes beyond financial size. Domestic crude and gas production reduces some of India’s dependence on imports, while ONGC’s group also includes major downstream businesses such as HPCL and MRPL.
4. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL)
BPCL is one of India’s largest integrated refining and fuel-marketing companies.
Its Mumbai, Kochi and Bina refineries processed 41.15 million tonnes during FY2025-26, while group product sales reached 55.72 million tonnes. Gross revenue from operations stood at approximately ₹5,22,820 crore, and net profit attributable to BPCL increased to ₹25,843 crore.
BPCL operates a nationwide petrol-pump and LPG network and is also investing in petrochemicals, gas, renewable power, biofuels and other new-energy businesses.
5. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL)
HPCL recorded one of the strongest financial improvements among India’s large oil marketing companies in FY2025-26.
Revenue from operations reached approximately ₹4,78,543 crore, while standalone profit after tax rose 133% to ₹17,175 crore. Its Mumbai and Visakhapatnam refineries achieved their highest-ever combined crude throughput of 26.04 million tonnes.
HPCL also achieved record sales of 51.45 million tonnes and crossed 25,000 retail outlets during the year. Its strength in LPG, fuel retail, refining and pipelines keeps it among India’s largest oil-sector companies.
6. Oil India Limited
Oil India is the country’s second major government-controlled upstream producer after ONGC. Its activities include crude-oil and natural-gas exploration, drilling, production and transportation.
For the year ended March 31, 2026, Oil India reported revenue of ₹24,039 crore, profit after tax of ₹4,455 crore and net worth of ₹42,128 crore.
Its strategic importance is larger than those revenue figures suggest. Oil India is also the majority owner of Numaligarh Refinery, giving the group a valuable connection between crude production and downstream refining in north-eastern India.
7. Nayara Energy
Nayara Energy is one of India’s most important private downstream oil companies.
Its Vadinar refinery in Gujarat has 20 million tonnes per annum of capacity and is India’s second-largest single-site refinery. Nayara says the refinery contributes around 8% of the country’s refining output.
The company has also developed a large private fuel-retail network with more than 7,000 petrol pumps across India. Its business now extends into petrochemicals through a 450 KTPA polypropylene plant.
That combination of refining complexity, private retail scale and petrochemical integration gives Nayara a distinctive place in the market.
8. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL)
MRPL is a major ONGC group refinery based in Mangaluru. Its facility is capable of processing a wide range of crude grades and is integrated with an aromatics complex.
FY2025-26 revenue from operations reached ₹1,05,155 crore, while profit after tax increased sharply to ₹1,931 crore. Refinery throughput was about 17 million tonnes and gross refining margin improved to $9.22 per barrel.
MRPL also commissioned additional retail outlets during the year, although refining and petrochemicals remain its core businesses.
9. Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL)
Chennai Petroleum is an IndianOil group company and one of southern India’s most important refiners.
For FY2025-26, revenue from operations reached approximately ₹78,611 crore, while standalone profit after tax rose to ₹3,062 crore. CPCL achieved its highest-ever crude throughput of 11.71 million tonnes, representing 112% capacity utilisation despite a planned turnaround during the year.
Its location and integration with IndianOil’s wider downstream network make it important to fuel supply in southern India.
10. Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL)
Numaligarh Refinery is a subsidiary of Oil India and became a Navratna public-sector enterprise in December 2025. Its existing refinery in Assam has a capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum.
Its importance comes from what is being built next. NRL is implementing a major project to increase refining capacity from 3 MMTPA to 9 MMTPA, along with a long-distance crude pipeline connecting the refinery with imported crude supplies from the eastern coast.
NRL has also entered second-generation bamboo ethanol and cross-border fuel infrastructure, making it strategically important to the North-East.
What Is Changing in India’s Oil Industry?
India’s major oil companies face two pressures simultaneously. Domestic energy demand remains huge, but the long-term energy system is gradually becoming cleaner.
That is why companies such as IndianOil, BPCL, HPCL and Reliance are investing beyond petrol and diesel. Petrochemicals, biofuels, green hydrogen, compressed biogas, renewable electricity, EV charging and battery-related businesses are becoming increasingly important.
Energy security is another major factor. India still imports most of the crude oil it consumes, meaning geopolitical disruption and shipping problems can quickly affect crude costs and refining margins. Companies with diverse crude sourcing, sophisticated refineries and strong logistics therefore have an advantage.
At the same time, domestic producers such as ONGC and Oil India remain strategically important even though India’s oil consumption is far larger than domestic crude production.
Conclusion
India’s oil industry in 2026 is led by a combination of giant public-sector enterprises and powerful private refiners. IndianOil leads through unmatched refining, pipeline and marketing reach, while Reliance operates one of the world’s most important downstream complexes. ONGC remains India’s dominant upstream producer, and BPCL and HPCL provide enormous refining and retail scale.
Oil India, Nayara Energy, MRPL, Chennai Petroleum and Numaligarh Refinery add important production, private-sector and regional refining strength. The industry’s next phase will not be about oil alone. The strongest companies will be those capable of meeting India’s current fuel needs while building significant businesses in petrochemicals, cleaner fuels and new energy.
FAQs
Q1. What is the difference between an upstream and downstream oil company?
Upstream companies explore for and produce crude oil and natural gas. Downstream companies refine crude into petrol, diesel, LPG and aviation fuel and may also sell those products. ONGC and Oil India are primarily upstream businesses, while IndianOil, BPCL, HPCL and Nayara are strongly downstream-focused.
Q2. Why is Reliance included when it is not only an oil company?
Reliance Industries is diversified, but its Oil-to-Chemicals division is itself one of India’s largest refining and petrochemical businesses. It is therefore reasonable to assess that operation when ranking major oil companies.
Q3. Which oil companies in India operate petrol pumps?
IndianOil, BPCL and HPCL operate some of India’s largest public-sector fuel-retail networks. Nayara Energy has a major private network, while Reliance participates in fuel retail through Jio-bp, its joint venture with bp. MRPL has also been expanding its retail network.
Q4. Does a larger refinery automatically make a company stronger?
No. Refinery size matters, but profitability also depends on refinery complexity, crude sourcing, product mix, utilisation, logistics and marketing margins. Upstream producers such as ONGC also cannot be judged mainly by refining capacity because their business is fundamentally different.
Q5. Will electric vehicles make Indian oil companies irrelevant?
Not in the foreseeable future. Oil companies also supply aviation, industry, petrochemicals, lubricants and many other products. However, growth in EVs can gradually reduce some road-fuel demand, which is why most major oil companies are diversifying into cleaner energy, petrochemicals and alternative fuels.
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