HPCL bags gas supply order from ONGC Petro Additions

Shares of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) witnessed subdued trade on Monday even as the state-owned oil marketing company announced a slew of deals. The company, a subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has secured an order from ONGC Petro Additions Ltd (OPaL) to supply natural gas. Besides, it has entered into a partnership with Automin Car Services Pvt Ltd., a subsidiary of Petromin Corporation, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), to "revolutionise" vehicle maintenance in India. The company, however, didn’t reveal the value of the contract.

Despite these developments, HPCL shares ended marginally lower at ₹272.85, down 0.18% on the BSE. Early today, the energy stock opened a tad lower at ₹272.05 against the previous closing price of ₹273.35, while it rose as much as 0.4% to hit an intraday high of ₹274.35. However, it soon pared gains and touched a low of ₹271.20, down 0.8% against Friday’s closing level of ₹273.35.

With a market capitalisation of ₹38,705 crore, the stock trades 2.5% lower than its 52-week high of ₹279.60 touched on June 14, 2023. It hit a 52-week low of ₹200 on October 20, 2022. The oil major has given 29.5% returns to its shareholders in the past one year, while it has risen 15% in the calendar year 2023. In the last one month, the counter has seen a growth of 6.5%, while it has fallen nearly 1% in a week.

In an exchange filing today, HPCL says it is enhancing its footprints in the natural gas market and has secured a major long-term contract from ONGC Petro additions Ltd (OPaL) for the supply of natural gas to their mega petrochemical complex at Dahej. OPaL, a joint venture of ONGC, GAIL and GSPC, requires natural gas for operating its own captive power plant (CPP) for supporting its power and steam requirements.

“HPCL has won the contract through competitive bidding against a tender floated by OPaL,” it says, adding that the company will be supplying 13.53 trillion btu of natural gas to OPaL during the period October 23 to May 26 under this contract.

In a separate development, HPCL has entered into an agreement with Automin Car Services to establish co-branded HP-Petromin Express vehicle service centres across India. Petromin is a leading mobility solutions player in automotive technology with more than 700 multi-brand quick-service outlets across GCC.

“This strategic partnership aims to provide world-class customer experiences at affordable prices and offer a comprehensive range of solutions under one roof, including lube change, light repairs, periodic maintenance, battery replacements, tire services, air conditioning repairs and eco carwash facilities,” says HPCL.

The co-branded HP-Petromin Express vehicle service centres will be located in HPCL's select retail outlets in metros and other major cities across India.

(DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by investment experts on fortuneindia.com are either their own or of their organisations, but not necessarily that of fortuneindia.com and its editorial team. Readers are advised to consult certified experts before taking investment decisions.)