ONGC shares surge most in over 19 months on signing ship building contracts with Samsung Heavy Industries

ONGC shares rose as much as 7.26%, its best single day gain since June 3, 2024, to hit a fresh 52-week high of ₹266.05 on the BSE. On the National Stock Exchange, ONGC shares climbed as much as 7.36% to hit an intraday high of ₹266.20 amid spike in trading volumes.

"Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), through its joint venture companies with M/s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Limited (MOL), Japan, has entered into Ship Building Contracts (SBCs) with M/s Samsung Heavy Industries, South Korea, for the construction of two state-of-the-art Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs) on 27 January 2026. The fast-tracked conclusion of these SBCs reflects strong trilateral cooperation and industrial partnership among India, Japan and South Korea," ONGC said in a press release.

The initiative is a strategic step toward strengthening India’s energy ecosystem by securing specialized marine logistics for critical feedstock, improving supply chain resilience, and enabling long-term industrial self-reliance, ONGC said.

"By creating dedicated, Indian-flag ethane shipping capacity, ONGC is reinforcing national resilience against external disruptions, supporting continuity of operations across petrochemicals and downstream value chains that rely on stable, predictable input supplies," the state-run oil explorer said.

ONGC and MOL Japan have set up two joint venture companies, Bharat Ethane One IFSC Pvt. Ltd. and Bharat Ethane Two IFSC Pvt. Ltd., in GIFT City, Gujarat, with each company owning and operating one VLEC. These vessels will support the transportation of about 600 KTPA of ethane for OPaL, a subsidiary of ONGC.

The VLECs will have Indian flag, with a cargo capacity of one lakh cubic meters each. ONGC has also signed long-term Time Charter Party agreements with the two JV companies for shipping ethane from the USA to India, creating a stable, dedicated corridor for energy feedstock movement. The vessels are scheduled for delivery in FY 2028–29.

Meanwhile, in a strategic move to boost offshore energy exploration and operational efficiency, ONGC and Reliance Industries have signed an agreement to share resources such as supply vessels used in finding and producing oil and gas.

The two firms signed an MoU for resource-sharing collaboration on the sidelines of India Energy Week (IEW), ONGC Director (Production) Pankaj Kumar said.

The pact aims to enhance operational efficiency, enable faster execution of offshore projects, and create stronger synergies between India's largest oil and gas producer and the nation's biggest and most valuable company who have adjacent fields and operations particularly off the east coast, he said.

ONGC shares were witnessing higher than usual trading activity as trading volume in ONGC shares jumped by 3.2 times to 3.21 crore shares compared with an average trading volume of 1.02 crore shares.

On the BSE, as many as 28.88 lakh shares changed hands compared with an average of 5.64 lakh shares traded daily in the past two weeks.

As of 10:42 am, ONGC shares traded 6.31% higher at ₹263.33, outperforming the NIFTY50 index which was up 0.57%. The stock was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index.