The announcement was made during trading hours today, 6 September 2013.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 254.19 points or 1.34% at 19,233.95.

On BSE, 11,000 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 1.42 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a a low of Rs 31 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 22.25 on 30 July 2013. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 125.50 on 8 September 2012.

The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 5 September 2013, surging 19.84% compared with the Sensex's 1.06% fall. The stock had, however, underperformed the market in past one quarter, declining 31.83% as against Sensex's 3.01% fall.

The small-cap oil exploration firm has equity capital of Rs 130.49 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC) said that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) and Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) have approved the commerciality of 'Dirok' hydrocarbon discovery in Block AAP-ON-94/1 located in Assam-Arakan basin with the mean Gas-Initially-In-Place (GIIP) of 254 BCF. Following this approval, HOEC, as the operator of the block, is preparing the Field Development Plan for Dirok Discovery with the objective to bring the First Gas to the market in an accelerated manner, subject to timely receipt of various regulatory approvals for the development/production phase, the company said in a statement.

HOEC has 26.88% participating interest in the development and production phase of Dirok Discovery. The other consortium partners include Oil India (OIL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL).

HOEC reported a net loss of Rs 18.34 crore in Q1 June 2013, as against net profit of Rs 1.48 crore in Q1 June 2012. Net sales declined 42.2% to Rs 15.50 crore in Q1 June 2013 over Q1 June 2012.

HOEC was incorporated in 1983 for taking up Exploration and Production (E&P) activities. The company has participating interest in nine oil/gas fields in India (in Cambay basin, Cauvery basin, Assam Arakan basin and Rajasthan basin), which are in varying stages of E&P life cycle i.e. exploration, development and production.

HOEC has a wholly owned subsidiary, HOEC Bardahl India, engaged in marketing of high performance fuel/engine additives.