Shares of oil and gas companies, including ONGC and IOC, extended gains on Thursday as crude prices continued to trade above $100 a barrel on supply concerns.

Oil prices rose on heightened concerns about tight supply amid disruptions to Russian exports, possible output cuts by major producers and partial shutdowns of US refineries.

Brent crude was up 0.5% at $101.79 a barrel at 10:12 am. The benchmark hit a three-week high on Wednesday after the Saudi energy minister said OPEC and its ally OPEC+ could cut output to support prices.

According to the PTI report, ONGC shares rose more than 1% in intraday trading as the oil producer has resumed bidding to sell gas from its KG field at a higher price of $15 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) because it hopes to capitalise on soaring global energy prices.

According to tender documents cited by PTI, the company seeks to sell 750,000 standard cubic meters of natural gas within a year from the KG-DWN-98/2 (KG-D5) field in the Bay of Bengal.

Shares of Chennai Petro fell nearly 2%, a day after the company’s board approved a joint venture with Indian Oil Corp and seed equity investors to carry out 9 million tonnes per annum (MMTPA) refining at the Cauvery Basin refinery for Rs 31,580 crore Factory project. Seed equity investors include Axis Bank, HDFC Life, ICICI Bank, ICICI Prudential and SBI Life.

The company’s board also approved an equity investment of up to Rs 2,570 crore by Chennai Petroleum in the joint venture.

Meanwhile, global brokerage Jefferies is upbeat on city gas companies as it sees increased domestic gas distribution creating room to defend earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)/SCM.

It said it might be a surprise if Gujarat Gas receives contracted spot volumes in the second half of the fiscal. However, if the company fails to procure the spot at $30, the brokerage sees a 7-22% downside risk to its earnings.

Independent market expert Kush Ghodasara said oil prices are now trading around their 200-day average after hitting a record high in February. In the long run, Ghodasara’s first choice is Reliance Industries. “Any correction to Rs 2,400 is a buying opportunity, targeting Rs 3,200 a year,” he said.

He added that if oil stays above $95 for the next two days, it is expected to rise to $111 within a month.