ONGC Shares Highest Since May 2015 After First Oil Output In KG Basin

Shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corp. jumped to over eight-year high on Monday after commencement of oil production at its KG basin deep-water block.

The company announced the successful commencement of “First Oil” production from its deep-water KG-DWN-98/2 block, located off the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

"With commencement of this First Oil from ‘M – field’ on Jan. 7, ONGC is completing Phase 2," the company said in an exchange filing.

Shares of ONGC rose as much as 2.01%, the highest since May 29, 2015, before paring gains to trade 0.76% higher at 11:56 a.m. This compares to a 0.65% decline in the NSE Nifty 50.

The stock has risen 47.22% in the last 12 months. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 1.7 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 72.97, indicating that the stock may be overbought.

Of the 28 analysts tracking the company, 19 maintain a 'buy' rating, five recommend a 'hold,' and four suggest a 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month analysts' consensus price target implies an upside of 0.4%.