The shares of the three state-run oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) — rose on the back of the Rs 14,000 crore subsidy payout to them for the June 2010 quarter.
Both Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation touched 52-week highs. While BPCL was up 11 per cent at Rs 774.60, HPCL was up 5.38 per cent at Rs 536.70 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
IOC touched an intra-day high of Rs 401.90 and an intra-day low of Rs 391.85. The scrip closed at Rs 404.35, up 3.08 per cent.
“The market reacted positively to BPCL's international shale gas acquisition. The subsidy payout also pushed the company's stock up," said a sector analyst from Mumbai.
Last week, Bharat PetroResources Ltd (BPRL), the overseas upstream arm of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), bought two exploration acreages of shale gas operated by Norwest Energy in Perth, Australia. BPCL plans to invest Rs 63 crore for exploration and drilling in these blocks.
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“The shares of other two oil marketing companies were up on news of the subsidy payout,” added the analyst.
| OIL RUSH | |||
| Aug 20, ’10 | Aug 23, ’10 | % chg | |
| BPCL | 697.85 | 774.60 | 11.00 |
| HPCL | 509.30 | 536.70 | 5.38 |
| IOC | 392.25 | 404.35 | 3.08 |
| ONGC | 1258.09 | 1282.84 | 1.97 |
| Source: Bloomberg | |||
Oil marketing companies sell gasoline, diesel and cooking fuel at discounted prices. While the government deregulated gasoline prices on June 26, it continues to control diesel and cooking fuel prices.