Oilex chalks up victory in ongoing spat with Indian JV partner

Exploration and production outfit Oilex shares rose in early trading after the High Court of Gujarat dismissed its joint venture partner's request for an extension to a court order in their on-going legal battle.

Back in July, Oilex made moves to exercise its option to force Gujarat State Petroleum's withdrawal from its Cambay joint venture as part of the AIM-listed company's efforts to take full control of the asset after the local partner failed to pay its share of expenses.

In mid-August, Gujarat State Petroleum served the interim stay order in order to delay the transfer of its interest to Oilex and on Wednesday, applied to the High Court of Gujarat to extend the stay until 30 November as it sought to clarify financial conditions ahead of arbitration.

However, the Court, which ordered GSP earlier this month to deposit 82.5m rupees (£882,866) as well as a 217.5m-rupee (£2.32m) bank guarantee through its registrar by 15 November, dismissed GSP's request for an extension.

As of 0830 GMT, Oilex shares had shot up 55.06% to 0.69p.