GAIL (India) rose 1.81% to Rs 339.50 at 13:05 IST on BSE after the company said it is in talks to buy a stake in the Tanzanian assets of British oil explorer Ophir Energy Plc.
Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 31.57 points or 0.15% at 20,866.44.
On BSE, 29,000 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 61,000 shares in the past two weeks.
The stock hit a high of Rs 343 and a low of Rs 335 so far during the day.
GAIL (India) today, 3 December 2013, said that its talks with Ophir Energy PLC for a stake in its offshore gas assets in Tanzania are continuing and won't be affected by a share sale deal with Singapore state-owned firm Pavilion Energy last month. "There are still options available with Ophir in Tanzania. They have sold 20%, but still have 20% stake in three blocks," Prabhat Singh, marketing director for GAIL, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference. "We are in negotiations for a stake", he said.
Ophir Energy PLC sold a share of a giant natural-gas discovery off the coast of Tanzania to Singapore state-owned firm Pavilion Energy for $1.3 billion, marking the first major transaction in Tanzania's natural-gas sector. The deal was initially seen as a setback for GAIL's ambitions in Tanzania, where it has been talking with Ophir for buying a stake.
Post the deal with the Singapore firm in Tanzania, Ophir holds a 20% stake in blocks 1, 3 and 4, an 80% operating interest in block 7 and a 70% operating interest in East Pande. Blocks 1, 3 and 4 are a joint venture with the BG Group, which holds 60% and operates the block.
GAIL (India)'s net profit declined 7.1% to Rs 915.67 crore on 22.7% growth in net sales to Rs 13944.55 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012.
GAIL (India) is India's flagship gas transmission and marketing company with global footprints. The Government of India (GoI) holds 57.34% stake in GAIL (India) (as per the shareholding pattern as on 30 September 2013).
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