Shares of state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) dropped nearly 3 percent on Wednesday, January 4. Yesterday, the company said that its vintage offshore drilling rig 'Sagar Samrat' has been commissioned as a mobile offshore production unit (MOPU).
The rig, which had outlived its sell-by date, was refurbished into a mobile offshore production unit (MOPU), capable of bringing to surface oil and gas found below the seabed, PTI reported.
During Wednesday’s trade, the stock opened on a negative note of Rs. 148.80 per share against the previous close of Rs. 149.55 per share and dipped further during the early trading session to touch an intraday low of Rs. 145 per share. It was trading at ₹145.40, down by 2.77 percent at 12:10 p.m. on the NSE.
The stock touched a 52-week-high of Rs. 194.95 on March 08, 2022 and a 52-week-low of Rs. 119.85 on July 6, 2022, indicating that at the current level, the stock is trading over 28 percent above its 52-week low and 23 percent below its 52 week high.
The stock has shown a positive growth of a little over 1 percent in the last one month. Moreover, in the past six months, it has increased by nearly 15 percent. However, the stock has declined almost 27 percent in the last five years.
Sagar Samrat MOPU, which was commissioned on December 23 last year, will handle up to 20,000 barrels per day of crude oil, with a maximum export gas capacity of 2.36 million cubic meters per day and is expected to add 6,000 barrels per day of oil to ONGC's production in the coming days.
The Sagar Samrat conversion is one of the most complex projects executed by ONGC. The first oil from the WO-16 cluster flowed into the processing system of MOPU and dispatch to onshore terminal commenced.
After several hurdles like the legal challenges and Covid-19, the MOPU was transported to India, on a Heavy Lift Vessel and post statutory clearances, successfully installed close to the WO-16 wellhead platform on April 16, 2022, the official report stated.
On the brighter front, domestic brokerage Motilal Oswal Financial Services has retained its 'Buy' call on ONGC with a target price of ₹198 per share, stating that 2023 will most likely be a defining year for the oil major with two prominent triggers, reported Moneycontrol.
Considering the great conjunction in addition to the cushion provided by the high dividend yield of 13.6% in FY23, we retain our BUY rating on ONGC with a TP of ₹198, making it the top idea for 2023 in the sector, the brokerage added.
Another domestic brokerage, Prabhudas Lilladher has a ‘buy’ call on Oil And Natural Gas Corporation with a target price of ₹180, reported ET.
In comparison to Q2 FY22, the company's standalone net profit decreased 30.09% to ₹12,825.99 crore from ₹18,347.73 crore in Q2FY23. From ₹24,353.61 crore in the same quarter last year, revenue from operations increased by 57.53% to ₹38,320.76 crore in Q2 September 2022.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited is an India-based company, which is engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and value-added products. Its segments include exploration and production; and refining and marketing.
