Reliance Industries Q1 FY27: Oil-to-Chemicals EBITDA rises 17%; solar and battery manufacturing plans advance

Reliance Industries on Friday said its Oil-to-Chemicals (O2C) business navigated the quarter’s energy-market disruption through crude diversification, product placement in deficit markets and favourable ethane-cracking economics, helping segment earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rise 17.2% year-on-year to ₹17,010 crore. In the post-earnings conference call, management also said the company was progressing towards 20 gigawatts (GW) of solar-manufacturing capacity and 40 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery-manufacturing capacity this year.

O2C recorded quarterly revenue of ₹2,01,803 crore, up 30.4% year-on-year, aided by a 54.1% increase in crude prices. Transportation-fuel cracks and downstream chemical margins also improved, though planned maintenance reduced production.

“Our Energy business delivered a stellar performance” through an “agile response to changes in the market environment”, said Anant M. Ambani, Executive Director at Reliance Industries.

On the broad Oil & Gas business, Reliance said it would step up drilling in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin to offset the natural decline in KG-D6 gas production.

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The segment’s EBITDA was broadly stable at ₹4,973 crore in the first quarter of financial year 2026-27, aided by higher oil and condensate contribution and improved coal-bed methane (CBM) output. Management said during the conference call that CBM production had crossed 1 million standard cubic metres per day and that a multi-well programme would continue.

Reliance said it diversified its crude basket, with higher sourcing from Russia and Latin America, reducing dependence on Arabian Gulf (AG) crudes. It also maximised product netbacks by placing cargoes in deficit markets including Singapore, Australia, East Africa and South Africa.

The business benefited from ethane economics. As oil and naphtha prices rose sharply, ethane remained relatively favourable, improving the cost position of Reliance’s ethane-linked petrochemical operations relative to naphtha crackers.

Management said higher benchmark cracks did not fully translate into profit. Physical-crude premiums, freight and insurance costs increased sharply. Reliance also diverted propane and butane to raise liquefied petroleum gas output for the domestic market, affecting petrochemical feedstock availability and reducing production meant for sale.

Production meant for sale fell 9.8% year on year to 15.6 million tonnes due to a planned turnaround and a diversion of liquefied petroleum gas. The business also faced special additional excise duty on petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel, along with under-recoveries from holding domestic fuel prices.

Jio-bp expanded its fuel-retail network to 2,221 outlets from 1,991 a year earlier. Petrol volumes rose 16.8% year-on-year, while diesel volumes declined 1.9%, as the business prioritised uninterrupted fuel supply and stable retail prices during the disruption.

Jio-bp Pulse crossed the monthly footfall of 50,000 customers, supported by 5,820 live charging points. Its compressed biogas network crossed 131 operating outlets.

In the post-earnings conference call, management said Reliance had already achieved solar-module and cell production of around 1 GW per week at Jamnagar. It is building an integrated solar-manufacturing ecosystem spanning polysilicon, wafers, cells and modules.

The company said it was progressing towards 20 GW of integrated solar photovoltaic manufacturing capacity and 40 GWh of battery-manufacturing capacity this year, with longer-term battery capacity planned at 120 GWh.

Management said engineering and project development at Kutch were progressing, with installation expected after the monsoon. Reliance expects to begin supplying power from Kutch during the year as transmission infrastructure is readied.