ONGC gains after unit's agreement with Rosneft

Mumbai: 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.