Gas stocks surge as Street turns bullish on Centre's revised natural gas pricing formula

Shares of Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL), Petronet LNG, Gujarat Gas, Oil India, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and GAIL (India) rose on Monday as Dalal Street turned bullish on gas distribution companies. The surge came after the companies trimmed the prices of CNG and PNG following the government's decision on Friday to index domestic gas prices to crude with a cap of $6.57 per mmBtu (million metric British thermal units), delinking them from rates at gas hubs in surplus markets such as the US, Canada and Russia.

Following the government action, GAIL slashed its CNG and piped cooking gas prices by up to Rs 7 per kg in various states, while MGL also reduced CNG prices by Rs 8 per kg and domestic PNG by Rs 5/SCM (standard cubic metre) in and around Mumbai. IGL has cut CNG and PNG prices by Rs 6 in the national capital. Private gas service major Adani Total Gas also reduced its CNG prices by Rs 8.13 per kg and that of PNG by Rs 5.06 per SCM.

ONGC traded over 2 per cent higher at Rs 153.90, IGL gained 1.2 per cent trading at Rs 468.40, while Gujarat Gas was positive by half a per cent, trading at Rs 469.05. Adani Total Gas zoomed almost 5 per cent, quoting at Rs 906.90. GAIL India was 0.43 per cent up at Rs 105.90.

Jefferies raises target on IGL, MGL

Global brokerage Jefferies has maintained 'buy' rating on IGL but raised the target price on the PSU from Rs 475 to Rs 540, suggesting an over 13.5 per cent upside. The brokerage also raised target on Gujarat Gas from Rs 405 to Rs 425, while retaining 'underperform' rating.

Govt accepts Kirit Parikh Committee Recommendations on natural gas pricing from APM fields

The move comes after the Centre accepted several key recommendations made by the Kirit Parikh Committee vis-a-vis the pricing of natural gas produced from APM fields.