We have audited the accompanying standalone financial statements of Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Limited(the "Company"), which comprise the Balance Sheet as at March 31, 2025, and the Statement of Profit and Loss(including Other Comprehensive Income), the Statement of Cash flows and the Statement of Changes in Equity forthe year ended on that date, and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of material accountingpolicies and other explanatory information and which includes eight unincorporated joint ventures accounted onproportionate basis.
In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, and based on theconsideration of reports of the other auditors on separate financial statements of the unincorporated joint venturesreferred to in the Other Matters section below, the aforesaid standalone financial statements give the informationrequired by the Companies Act, 2013 (the "Act") in the manner so required and give a true and fair view inconformity with the Indian Accounting Standards prescribed under Section 133 of the Act, ("Ind AS") and otheraccounting principles generally accepted in India, of the state of affairs of the Company as at March 31,2025, andits profit, total comprehensive income, its cash flows and the changes in equity for the year ended on that date.
We conducted our audit of the standalone financial statements in accordance with the Standards on Auditing("SA"s) specified under section 143(10) of the Act. Our responsibilities under those Standards are further describedin the Auditor's Responsibility for the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements section of our report. We areindependent of the Company in accordance with the Code of Ethics issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountantsof India ("ICAI") together with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the standalone financialstatements under the provisions of the Act and the Rules made thereunder, and we have fulfilled our other ethicalresponsibilities in accordance with these requirements and the ICAI's Code of Ethics. We believe that the auditevidence obtained by us and the audit evidence obtained by the other auditors in terms of their reports referred toin the Other Matters section below, is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion on thestandalone financial statements.
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit ofthe standalone financial statements of the current period. These matters were addressed in the context of ouraudit of the standalone financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not providea separate opinion on these matters. We have determined the matters described below to be the key auditmatters to be communicated in our report.
S.No
Key Audit Matter
Auditor's Response
1
Impairment of Upstream Oil and Gas assets includedin PP&E and Capital Work in Progress and loansand advances given to subsidiary companies for Oiland Gas assets
Oil and Gas assets included in Property, Plant andequipment (PP&E) and Capital Work in progress of theCompany aggregate $ 80,742 lakhs and Loans andadvances given to its subsidiary companies which haveOil and Gas assets aggregate $ 12,576 lakhs.
Principal audit procedures performed included thefollowing:
Our procedures relating to testing the impairment ofthe upstream Oil and Gas assets, Capital work inProgress and loans and advances given to subsidiarycompanies for oil and gas assets included the following,among others:
(a) Evaluated the indicators for impairment ofupstream oil and gas assets, Capital work inProgress and loans and advances given tosubsidiary companies for oil and gas assets, andwhere impairment indicators were identified:
Auditor’s Response
Recoverability of such Oil and Gas assets has beenidentified as a key audit matter due to:
• The significance of the carrying value of the assetsbeing assessed;
• The assessment of the recoverable amount of theCompany's Cash Generating Units (CGUs) involvessignificant judgements about future cash flowforecasts and the discount rates applied; and
• The estimation of oil and natural gas reserves is asignificant area of judgement due to the technicaluncertainty involved and this has a substantialimpact on impairment testing.
As required by Ind AS 36 'Impairment of Assets',management estimated the recoverable amount of theCGU to determine if any impairment charges orreversals were required.
(i) Tested the effectiveness of internal controlsover the Company's process in estimating theoil and gas reserves, the completeness andaccuracy of the input data used and thereasonableness of key assumptionsconsidered in the impairment evaluationincluding the discount rates and future oil andgas prices.
(ii) Obtained the impairment workings preparedby the Company and performed the followingprocedures:
• Assessed the valuation methodology used bymanagement, evaluated the appropriatenessof management's identification of the CGU'sand tested the arithmetical accuracy of theimpairment calculations.
• Conducted corroborative inquiries with theCompany personnel, including internal reserveexperts, to identify factors, if any, which shouldbe considered in the analysis.
• Tested the key assumptions used in theassessment including reserve estimate, oiland gas prices by comparing them with prioryear's data and external data, where relevant.
• Assessed the reasonableness of the discountrates used.
• Verified the estimated future capital andoperational costs, by comparing the same withthe approved budgets and the productionforecasts.
• Performed sensitivity analysis of keyassumptions, including estimate ofproduction-based revenue growth rates andthe discount rates applied in the valuationworkings.
2
Measurement of provision for decommissioning,dismantling, removal and restoration ("DDRR")
The provision outstanding for DDRR of the Companyamounts to $ 15,918 Lakhs. The estimation of DDRRprovision, involves significant degree of judgement anduncertainty in estimation.
DDRR provisions are inherently subjective given theyare based on estimates of costs that will be settled inthe future. The Company reviews the DDRR provisionon an annual basis, of which key components includethe interest rate, inflation rate and expected futurecosts.
Principal audit procedures performed:
Our procedures relating to testing the measurementof the provision for DDDR included the following, amongothers:
(i) Tested the effectiveness of internal controls over
the Company's process in estimating the futurecosts, the completeness and accuracy of the inputdata used and the reasonableness of keyassumptions considered in their evaluation includingthe inflation rate and discount rates.
(ii) Obtained the calculation of the DDRR provisionprepared by the Company and performed thefollowing procedures:
• Obtained and evaluated the report receivedby the Company from an external specialistfor reasonableness.
• Tested the completeness of the provision bycomparing the list of operating blocks withthe obligation to create a provision for DDRR.
• Tested the arithmetical accuracy of theDecommissioning liability.
• The Company's Board of Directors is responsible for the other information. The other information comprisesthe information included in the Board's Report, Corporate Governance Report, Management Discussion andAnalysis and Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report, but does not include the consolidated financialstatements, standalone financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The Board's Report, CorporateGovernance Report, Management Discussion and Analysis and Business Responsibility and SustainabilityReport are expected to be made available to us after the date of this auditor's report.
• Our opinion on the standalone financial statements does not cover the other information and will not expressany form of assurance conclusion thereon.
• In connection with our audit of the standalone financial statements, our responsibility is to read the otherinformation identified above when it becomes available and, compare with the financial information of theunincorporated joint ventures audited by the other auditors, to the extent it relates to these unincorporatedjoint ventures and, in doing so, place reliance on the work of the other auditors, consider whether the otherinformation is materially inconsistent with the standalone financial statements or our knowledge obtained duringthe course of our audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. Other information so far as it relatesto the unincorporated joint ventures, is traced from their financial statements audited by the other auditors.
• When we read the Board's Report, Corporate Governance Report, Management Discussion and Analysis andBusiness Responsibility and Sustainability Report, if we conclude that there is a material misstatementtherein, we are required to communicate the matter to those charged with governance as required underSA 720 'The Auditor's responsibilities Relating to Other Information.
The Company's Board of Directors is responsible for the matters stated in section 134(5) of the Act with respectto the preparation of these standalone financial statements that give a true and fair view of the financial position,financial performance including other comprehensive income, cash flows and changes in equity of the Company inaccordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in India, including Ind AS specified under section 133of the Act. This responsibility also includes maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with theprovisions of the Act for safeguarding the assets of the Company and for preventing and detecting frauds andother irregularities; selection and application of appropriate accounting policies; making judgments and estimatesthat are reasonable and prudent; and design, implementation and maintenance of adequate internal financial controls,that were operating effectively for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the accounting records, relevant tothe preparation and presentation of the financial statements that give a true and fair view and are free frommaterial misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the standalone financial statements, management and Board of Directors are responsible for assessingthe Company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concernand using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Board of Directors either intend to liquidate theCompany or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.
The Company's Board of Directors is also responsible for overseeing the Company's financial reporting process.Auditor’s Responsibility for the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the standalone financial statements as a wholeare free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includesour opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted inaccordance with SAs will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise fromfraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected toinfluence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these standalone financial statements.
As pant of an audit in accordance with SAs, we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticismthroughout the audit. We also:
• Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the standalone financial statements, whether dueto fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidencethat is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a materialmisstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion,forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
• Obtain an understanding of internal financial controls relevant to the audit in order to design audit proceduresthat are appropriate in the circumstances. Under section 143(3)(i) of the Act, we are also responsible forexpressing our opinion on whether the Company has adequate internal financial controls with reference tostandalone financial statements in place and the operating effectiveness of such controls.
• Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimatesand related disclosures made by the management.
• Conclude on the appropriateness of management's use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based onthe audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that maycast significant doubt on the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a materialuncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor's report to the related disclosures in thestandalone financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusionsare based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor's report. However, future events orconditions may cause the Company to cease to continue as a going concern.
• Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the standalone financial statements, includingthe disclosures, and whether the standalone financial statements represent the underlying transactions andevents in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
• Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial information of the Company andunincorporated joint ventures to express an opinion on the standalone financial statements. We are responsiblefor the direction, supervision and performance of the audit of the financial statements of such entitiesincluded in the standalone financial statements of which we are the independent auditors. For the otherentities included in the standalone financial statements, which have been audited by the other auditors, suchother auditors remain responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the audits carried out bythem. We remain solely responsible for our audit opinion.
Materiality is the magnitude of misstatements in the standalone financial statements that, individually or in aggregate,makes it probable that the economic decisions of a reasonably knowledgeable user of the standalone financialstatements may be influenced. We consider quantitative materiality and qualitative factors in (i) planning the scopeof our audit work and in evaluating the results of our work; and (ii) to evaluate the effect of any identified misstatementsin the standalone financial statements.
We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope andtiming of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal financial controlsthat we identify during our audit.
We also provide those charged with governance with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethicalrequirements regarding independence, and to communicate with them all relationships and other matters thatmay reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where applicable, related safeguards.
From the matters communicated with those charged with governance, we determine those matters that were ofmost significance in the audit of the standalone financial statements of the current period and are therefore thekey audit matters. We describe these matters in our auditor's report unless law or regulation precludes publicdisclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rare circumstances, we determine that a matter should not becommunicated in our report because the adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably be expected tooutweigh the public interest benefits of such communication.
a) We have placed reliance on the technical/commercial evaluation performed by the management in respect ofthe categorization of wells as exploratory, development, producing and dry wells, allocation of costs incurredon them, proved developed hydrocarbon reserves and depletion thereof on Oil and Gas assets, impairment andliability for site restorations costs.
b) Management had performed year end physical verification of inventory of crude oil at offshore location. However,we were not able to physically observe the verification of the inventory that was carried out by the Managementdue to practical and safety considerations. Consequently, we have performed alternate procedures to auditthe existence and condition of inventory as per the guidance provided in SA 501 "Audit evidence - Specificconsideration for selected items" and have obtained sufficient appropriate audit evidence to issue our unmodifiedopinion on these Standalone Financial Statements.
c) The Standalone Financial Statements includes comparative figures for the year ended March 31, 2024 of anunincorporated joint venture consolidated on a proportionate basis, on account of a business combination ofentities under common control referred to in Note 47 of the standalone financial statements, which has beenaudited by the other auditor, where they have expressed an unmodified opinion vide their report datedMay 28, 2025. These financial information have been restated applying the principles specified in Appendix C toInd AS 103 for Business combinations of entities under common control and included in this StandaloneFinancial Statements.
d) We did not audit the financial information of seven unincorporated joint ventures included in the standalonefinancial statements of the Company whose financial information reflect total assets of $ 5,008 Lakhs as atMarch 31, 2025 and total revenues of $ Nil Lakhs for the year ended on that date, as considered in thestandalone financial statements. The financial information of these unincorporated joint ventures have beenaudited by the other auditors whose reports have been furnished to us, and our opinion in so far as it relatesto the amounts and disclosures included in respect of these unincorporated joint ventures, and our report interms of subsection (3) of Section 143 of the act, in so far as it relates to these unincorporated jointventures, is solely based on the report of such other auditors.
e) We did not audit the financial information of one unincorporated joint venture included in the StandaloneFinancial Statements, whose financial information reflect total assets of $ 486 lakhs as at March 31, 2025and total revenues of $ Nil for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2025. The financial information of thisunincorporated joint venture is unaudited and have been furnished to us by the Management and our opinionin so far as it relates to the amounts and disclosures included in respect of this unincorporated joint venture,is based solely on such unaudited financial information. In our opinion and according to the information andexplanations given to us by the Management, this financial information is not material to the Company.
Our opinion on the standalone financial statements and our report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements
below is not modified in respect of these matters.
1. As required by Section 143(3) of the Act, based on our audit and on the consideration of the reports of theother auditors on the separate financial statements of the unincorporated joint ventures, referred to in theOther Matters section above we report, to the extent applicable that:
a) We have sought and obtained all the information and explanations which to the best of our knowledge andbelief were necessary for the purposes of our audit.
b) In our opinion, proper books of account as required by law have been kept by the Company and itsunincorporated joint ventures so far as it appears from our examination of those books and the reportsof the other auditors, except for not complying with the requirement of audit trail as stated in (i)(vi)below.
c) The Balance Sheet, the Statement of Profit and Loss including Other Comprehensive Income, theStatement of Cash Flows and Statement of Changes in Equity dealt with by this Report are in agreementwith the relevant books of account.
d) In our opinion, the aforesaid standalone financial statements comply with the Ind AS specified underSection 133 of the Act.
e) On the basis of the written representations received from the directors as on March 31,2025 taken onrecord by the Board of Directors, none of the directors is disqualified as on March 31, 2025 from beingappointed as a director in terms of Section 164(2) of the Act.
f) The modification relating to the maintenance of accounts and other matters connected therewith, areas stated in paragraph (b) above.
g) With respect to the adequacy of the internal financial controls with reference to standalone financialstatements of the Company and the operating effectiveness of such controls, refer to our separateReport in "Annexure A". Our report expresses an unmodified opinion on the adequacy and operatingeffectiveness of the Company's internal financial controls with reference to standalone financial statements.
h) With respect to the other matters to be included in the Auditor's Report in accordance with therequirements of Section 197(16) of the Act, as amended, in our opinion and to the best of our informationand according to the explanations given to us, the remuneration paid by the Company to its directorsduring the year is in accordance with the provisions of Section 197 of the Act.
i) With respect to the other matters to be included in the Auditor's Report in accordance with Rule 11 ofthe Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014, as amended in our opinion and to the best of ourinformation and according to the explanations given to us:
i. The Company has disclosed the impact of pending litigations on its financial position in its standalonefinancial statements - Refer Note 45 to the standalone financial statements;
ii. The Company did not have any long-term contracts including derivative contracts for which therewere any material foreseeable losses;
iii. There has been no delay in transferring amounts, required to be transferred, to the Investor Educationand Protection Fund by the Company.
iv. (a) The Management has represented that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, as disclosed in
the note 60 to the Standalone Financial Statements no funds have been advanced or loaned orinvested (either from borrowed funds or share premium or any other sources or kind of funds)by the Company to or in any other person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities("Intermediaries"), with the understanding, whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that theIntermediary shall, directly or indirectly lend or invest in other persons or entities identified inany manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Company ("Ultimate Beneficiaries") or provide anyguarantee, security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries.
(b) The Management has represented, that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, as disclosedin the note 61 to the financial statements, no funds have been received by the Company fromany person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities ("Funding Parties"), with the understanding,whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that the Company shall, directly or indirectly, lend orinvest in other persons or entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of theFunding Party ("Ultimate Beneficiaries") or provide any guarantee, security or the like on behalfof the Ultimate Beneficiaries.
(c) Based on the audit procedures performed that have been considered reasonable and appropriatein the circumstances, nothing has come to our notice that has caused us to believe that therepresentations under sub-clause (i) and (ii) of Rule 11(e), as provided under (a) and (b) above,contain any material misstatement.
v. The Company has not declared or paid any dividend during the year and has not proposed finaldividend for the year.
vi. Based on our examination, which included test checks, the Company has used accounting softwaresystems for maintaining its books of account for the financial year ended March 31, 2025 whichhave the feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility and the same has operated throughout theyear for all relevant transactions recorded in the software systems except that:
a) The feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility was not enabled at the database level to logany direct data changes for the accounting software used by the Company.
b) In respect of a software operated by a third party software service provider, for maintainingpayroll records, based on the independent auditor's system and organization controls reportcovering the requirement of audit trail, the Company has used a software which has a featureof recording audit trail (edit log) facility and the same has operated during the periodApril 1, 2024 till December 31, 2024 and no instance of audit trail feature being tamperedwith has been reported in such independent auditor's report for the aforesaid period. In theabsence of an independent auditor's report covering the audit trail requirement for the remainingperiod, we are unable to comment whether the audit trail feature of the said software wasenabled and operated from January 1, 2025 to March 31, 2025, for all relevant transactionsrecorded in the software or whether there was any instance of the audit trail feature beentampered with.
Further, during the course of our audit we did not come across any instance of the audit trail feature beingtampered with, in respect of accounting software for the period for which the audit trail feature was enabledand operating.
Additionally, the audit trail that was enabled and operated for the year ended March 31, 2024, has beenpreserved by the Company as per the statutory requirements for record retention, as stated in Note 68 tothe financial statements.
2. As required by the Companies (Auditor's Report) Order, 2020 ("the Order") issued by the Central Governmentin terms of Section 143(11) of the Act, we give in "Annexure B" a statement on the matters specified inparagraphs 3 and 4 of the Order.
(Firm's Registration No.117366W/W-100018)
(Partner)
Place : Chennai (Membership No. 213649)
Date : May 28, 2025 (UDIN: 25213649BMOENQ8606)