ONGC Signs MOU With Arrow Energy Of Australia - Jan 15, 2009

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Australia''s Arrow Energy for corporation in Coal-bed Methane Sector.

The MoU was signed by D K Pande, the Director (Exploration) of ONGC and Nicholas Davies, CEO and MD of Arrow Energy Ltd.

Under the deal there would be joint participation by the two companies for exploration as well as field development and production of Coal bed Methane and sharing of knowledge, experience and transfer of technology in CBM Sector, in the blocks in India and abroad.

CBM found in coal seams is fast emerging as an important source of energy world over. ONGC, the pioneer of CBM exploration in India, has been carrying out CBM activities in the states of Jharkhand as well as West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

Arrow Energy Ltd Group is a leading Australian integrated energy company focused on the development of CBM.

Mkts Remain Buoyant; Bank, Realty Stocks In Demand @ 10:56 Hrs

With a few frontline stocks encountering strong resistance, the market has come off its higher levels now. Ambuja Cements (down marginally), Tata Steel (up 0.3 per cent) and Ranbaxy Laboratories (up 0.25 per cent) have dropped down sharply from their earlier highs. Tata Consultancy Services and Cipla are up by just around 1.3 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively.

Jaiprakash Associates, which had shot up by around 12 per cent in early trade, has eased to Rs 215.15, trimming down its gain to 7.25 per cent. HDFC Bank (5.35 per cent), ICICI Bank (5.45 per cent) and State Bank of India (4.4 per cent) continue to trade firm.

Wipro, Tata Motors, Satyam Computer Services, Reliance Energy, Reliance Industries, Reliance Communications, ONGC, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys Technologies, ITC, HDFC, Hindustan Unilever, Grasim Industries, DLF, BHEL, ACC and Bharti Airtel are up by 2 per cent - 5 per cent.

The Sensex, which had vaulted to 15,465.81 earlier this morning, has slipped to 15,274.54, but still remains fairly high up in the positive territory with a strong gain of 441.08 points or 2.97 per cent at present.

The Nifty is up 2.68 per cent or 121.30 points at 4654.30. Earlier, after opening at 4534.75, the Nifty has hit a high of 4718.40 this morning.

Besides sector heavyweight DLF, Unitech, Akruti City, Ansal Infrastructure, HDIL, India Bulls Real Estate, Mahindra Lifespace, Omaxe, Parsvnath Developers, Puravankara Projects and Sobha Developers are the other strong gainers from the realty index.

These stocks are up by 2 per cent- 5 per cent over their previous closing levels now. Penland and Phoenix Mills have also posted sharp gains. Anant Raj Industries has eased by around 1.2 per cent due to lack of support.

Besides heavyweights ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and State Bank of India, a host of other bank stocks including Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Canara Bank, Centurion Bank of Punjab, Federal Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Karnataka Bank, Kotak Bank, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, Yes Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India, Corporation Bank, IDBI, Indian Bank, Syndicate Bank and UCO Bank and Dena Bank have also posted smart gains

ONGC Shares Up 6% On Likely Removal Of Crude Price Cap

MUMBAI: ONGC shares rallied the most among large caps on Monday on reports the ceiling on crude pricing from the oil major’s marginal fields is likely to be removed, thus making development of these fields by service contractors lucrative.

At 11:35 am, the company’s share was up 6.37 per cent at Rs 1,111 with volume traded at 82,711 against two-week average of 3,47,573 shares.

Currently, ONGC enters into service contracts with companies involved in development of marginal fields through a bidding process. A price cap of $35 a barrel governs the sale price when contractors sell crude to the exploration major.

This means even if international crude prices soar, the price of oil produced from marginal fields cannot be above $35, making it unattractive for the prospective bidders.

However, the crude price after removal of the cap would still be lower than what ONGC realises by selling crude to oil marketing companies, which is around $54 a barrel.