ONGC shares gain over 4%

Shares of ONGC today rose by over 4 per cent following ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas arm of the state-owned explorer, signing a deal with Russia's largest oil and gas producer Rosneft to jointly explore hydrocarbons in the offshore Arctic.
The company's stock opened the day on a higher note and further gained 4.24 per cent to Rs 424.80 - its 52-week high on the BSE.
On the NSE, the scrip rose by 4.17 per cent to touch its one year high of Rs 425.
Igor Sechin, President and Chairman of the Management Board of Rosneft and Dinesh Kumar Sarraf, Chairman of OVL and Chairman & Managing Director, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The Memorandum paves the way for the companies' cooperation in subsurface surveys, exploration and appraisal activities and hydrocarbons production in Russia's offshore Arctic," the Indian firm had said in a statement yesterday.
The parties will jointly consider forming a consortium led by Rosneft and involving other partners.