OREANDA-NEWS. Shares of state-owned oil and natural gas company Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) rose nearly 3 per cent in early trade on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after company acquired stakes in two Australian hydrocarbon fields for 85 million Australian dollars.

“The company has entered into an agreement with Sydney-based AWE Ltd to acquire 11.25 per cent stake in T/L1 area and 9.75 per cent interest in T/18P area,” HPCL said in a filing to BSE.

Buoyed by earnings, shares of company gained as much as 2.61 per cent to trade at Rs 233.40 a piece on the BSE.

In a similar fashion, shares of the company climbed 2.18 per cent to Rs 231.95 a piece on National Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, the broader benchmark Sensex was quoting at 20,798.91, up 115.40 points or 0.56 per cent at 10:40 hours.