RIL gains as Defence Ministry clears KG-D6 oil blocks

MUMBAI: Shares of Reliance Industries gained momentum in early trade after the Defence Ministry cleared Krishna Godavari basin KG-D6 block block and gas discovery area NEC-26 along with other areas which had been barred for any oil and gas activity.


The company’s KG-D6 block and gas discovery area of NEC-25 in the North East Coast ( EC) region, were declared "No-Go" zones for reasons like overlapping with proposed Naval base or being close to missile launching and Air Force exercise area.

According to reports, the RIL's KG-D6 block was fully cleared for oil and gas activity with the total area of 7,645 square kilometre reduced by 495 sq km to meet defence needs.

The Defence Ministry had put stringent conditions for another 32 exploration areas.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has upgraded Reliance Industries from ‘underperform’ to ‘neutral’ rating. The brokerage has also upped its price target from Rs 817 earlier to Rs 893.

BofA-ML feels refining outlook is improving and expects RIL to post strong gross refining margin in Q4. The brokerage expects gradual recovery in RIL’s Indian E&P operations but is not confident of a return of past glory.

At 09:30 a.m.; the stock was at Rs 852.15, up 1 per cent, on the BSE. It touched a high of Rs 852.85 and a low of Rs 850 in trade today.