Shares of private oil exploration companies rally

Jindal Drilling, Selan Exploration, Hindustan Oil Exploration, Dolphin Offshore and Aban Offshore are up 3%-15% on the BSE

Shares of private oil exploration companies have rallied on the bourses in an otherwise weak market, after the Cabinet approved auction of 69 small and marginal oil fields of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India to private and foreign firms.

Jindal Drilling & Industries (up 15% at Rs 139), Selan Exploration Technology (8% at Rs 235), Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (8% at Rs 35.30), Dolphin Offshore Enterprises (5.5% at Rs 105) and Aban Offshore (3.5% at Rs 252) were up 3%-15% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

At 01:37 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.43% or 111 points at 25,586.

The fields will be bid out on the basis of revenue share or the share of oil and gas a bidder offers to the government upfront, and work programme, the PTI report suggests quoting an official.

Companies offering the maximum revenue share or percentage of oil and gas to the government, and committing to do more work, will win the field, added report. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REPORT.