Oil and gas ancillary stocks experienced significant declines on Tuesday, September 1, with the sector under broad pressure amid a broader market selloff. According to reports from Essential Business Intelligence, stocks including Jindal Drilling, Dolphin Offshore Enterprises, Aegis Logistics, Deep Industries and Asian Energy Services were among the biggest losers in trade. The broad-based selloff reflects market concerns about the sector's near-term prospects, compounded by broader market weakness across Indian equities. The decline comes as crude oil prices surged to a 7-day high above $91/barrel, creating additional pressure on oil-sensitive stocks across multiple sectors.
Dolphin Offshore Enterprises emerged as the biggest loser, dropping 9.48% to hit an intraday low of ₹556.55 per share. As reported by Essential Business Intelligence, trading volumes reached approximately 5,021 shares worth ₹29.63 lakh on the BSE and 0.45 lakh shares worth ₹2.5 crore on the NSE. Aegis Logistics fell as much as 3.69% to an intraday low of ₹1,242 per share, with volumes of around 0.23 lakh shares worth ₹2.94 crore on the BSE and 2.02 lakh shares worth ₹25.6 crore on the NSE. Deep Industries declined 2.2% to hit an intraday low of ₹660 per share, while Asian Energy Services dropped 1.62% to ₹472.95 per share. Jindal Drilling and Industries also contributed to the decline, falling 1.06% to an intraday low of ₹621.85 per share.
The oil and gas ancillary sector decline occurred against a backdrop of broader market weakness, with Indian benchmark indices falling significantly on Monday. As per Essential Business Intelligence, the Nifty 50 dropped 0.74% to 23,997.10 and the Sensex fell 0.66% to 76,751.32. The market came under pressure as funds tracking MSCI indexes adjusted their holdings ahead of changes taking effect on September 1, while weaker Asian markets and rising oil prices added to the pressure. Asian equities declined after comments from US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh reinforced expectations of a possible interest-rate increase next month, with South Korea's Kospi falling 1.65% and Japan's Nikkei 225 declining 1.03%. The current decline is further amplified by crude oil prices hitting a 7-day high above $91/barrel, creating additional pressure on oil-sensitive stocks across multiple sectors including airlines and paints.
Separately, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is exploring strategic options to enhance its offshore exploration capabilities. According to reports from Essential Business Intelligence, ONGC has issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) to appoint a specialist global offshore rig-broking consultant to identify potential drillship owners and support negotiations for possible ownership or joint venture arrangements. The initiative aims to create dedicated, priority-access deepwater drillship capacity for ONGC's Mission Samudra Manthan programme, which was approved by the Union Cabinet last month as a ₹84,084-crore scheme running through 2030-31.
The Mission Samudra Manthan programme represents a significant investment in India's offshore energy exploration. As reported by Essential Business Intelligence, the scheme includes financial support of up to 50% of the cost of deepwater exploration wells, subject to a cap of ₹675 crore per well, along with plans for 60 deepwater exploration wells, seismic surveys and common offshore production and evacuation infrastructure. The programme is specifically designed to accelerate exploration of India's offshore oil and gas resources, particularly in deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas, positioning ONGC to potentially acquire or partner with drillship owners with assets rated for water depths of 1,500 metres or more.
