CPCL, MRPL shares surge up to 13%; why are these refiners gaining?

Shares of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) gained in Wednesday's trade. CPCL shares surged 13.15 per cent to hit a day's high of Rs 1,591, while MRPL stock climbed 5.56 per cent to Rs 184.30. Antelopus Selan Energy Ltd and Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Ltd (HOEC) were also trading higher in afternoon deals, with gains of up to 4 per cent.

The gains in CPCL and MRPL came as crude oil prices rose amid concerns over potential supply disruptions.

Last month, Choice Institutional Equities said higher crude prices remained a headwind for oil marketing companies (OMCs), while CPCL and MRPL could benefit. The brokerage had suggested a target price of Rs 215 per share for MRPL and Rs 1,540 per share for CPCL.

Kranthi Bathini, Director of Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities, said a sustained rise in global crude oil prices, along with healthy gross refining margins (GRMs), could support refiners such as CPCL and MRPL.

GRM is the difference between the total value of petroleum products coming out of an oil refinery and the price of the raw material, which is crude oil.

Why are crude oil prices rising?

At last check, Brent futures rose 84 cents or 0.84 per cent to $101.42 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 65 cents or 0.73 per cent to $90.09 a barrel.

Oil prices climbed as markets weighed potential supply constraints from a storm approaching US oil-producing regions and attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi Arabia against increased supplies of West Asia crude.

US forecasters said on Tuesday that a storm forming in the Gulf of Mexico was expected to become the first Atlantic hurricane of 2026 within two days and could affect oil and gas-producing facilities.

The offshore areas in the storm's path account for around 15 per cent of US crude oil production and 5 per cent of the country's natural gas output.

Meanwhile, US-Iran relations remained strained, with US President Donald Trump saying on Tuesday that nobody knew who was running Iran during the eight-month US-Israeli war with Iran.

(With inputs from Reuters)