Shares of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) ended the day 1-4 percent higher on March 25 after the consortium awarded 100 percent stake in the Abu Dhabi Onshore Block 1 concession.

Indian Oil Corporation along with Bharat PetroResources (BPRL), a subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) acting jointly as a consortium through Urja Bharat Pte have been awarded 100 percent stake in the Abu Dhabi Onshore Block 1 concession, as per a BSE release.

The concession has been awarded by the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC), on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government, where participation of the Indian Consortium is through a special purpose vehicle (SPV), Urja Bharat Pte, which comprises of Indian Oil: 50 percent and BPRL: 50 percent, it added.

The Indian consortium will make an investment of USD 170 million for the exploration activities.

This award is part of Abu Dhabi's first-ever competitive block bid round.

The concession award is for a term of 35 years with the effective date being March 24, 2019, which was signed between ADNOC and Indian Consortium.

Onshore Block 1 covers an area of 6,162 sq. km. around Ruwais field and includes already discovered but undeveloped fields. The present transaction marks an entry of lndian Oil as Joint Operator in the highly prospective UAE region and is consistent with its strategic objective of adding high-quality E&P assets to its existing upstream portfolio.

Indian Oil Corporation closed at Rs 164.10, up Rs 7.40, or 4.72 percent. It has touched an intraday high of Rs 165.25 and an intraday low of Rs 156 while Bharat Petroleum Corporation closed at Rs 383.95, up Rs 4.30, or 1.13 percent. It has touched an intraday high of Rs 385.70 and an intraday low of Rs 375.10.