Videocon Ind spurts on oil discovery

Videocon Industries is currently the top gainer on the BSE, up almost 12% at Rs.177, with an intra day high at Rs.182.40. Volumes are up over 6 times. Its 52-week high is at Rs.211.

The stock is buzzing loud today morning, reacting to the news it announced today, stating that it has made the largest discovery of petroleum in this year by Videocon consortium. This consortium includes Videocon and Brazilian company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), discovered new light crude oil in the Sergipe basin off Brazil's Northeast coast. Drilling in a well on the Farfan prospect found new light crude oil as well as natural gas. It expects to start producing oil in the area in 2018.

The discovery in the BM-SEAL-11 exploration block is one of several in recent years in an area believed to hold more than 1 billion barrels of recoverable oil, or enough to supply all needs in the United States for nearly 2 months.

Petrobras owns 60% of BM-SEAL-11 and is the operator, with the rest being owned by IBV Brasil SA, a 50-50 JV between Videocon and BPRL Ventures NV, a unit of the upstream arm of Indian state-run oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd.