Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was donw 15.97 points, or 0.09% to 17,206.17.

On BSE, 85,221 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 15.72 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 54.95 and a low of Rs 53.60 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 44.80 on 18 January 2012. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 147.80 on 11 April 2011.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 9 April 2012, falling 5.81% compared with the Sensex's 1.61% fall. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, declining 6.62% as against Sensex's 8.9% gain.

The mid-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 1427.59 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The Essar Oil stock has fallen 5.19% in two trading sessions from Rs 56.75 on Wednesday, 4 April 2012, after the company said after market hours on 4 April 2012 that the Supreme Court of India has disallowed the company's review petition in relation to deferred sales tax. The stock had fallen 4.31% to settle at Rs 54.30 on Monday, 9 April 2012.

Essar Oil in a press release said that the Supreme Court of India has disallowed its review petition in relation to deferred sales tax. It added that this order has no new impact on its business. The company informed that it has already recognised the liability in the Q3 December 2011. Meanwhile, the company is in discussion with Gujarat Government for finalising the terms of repayment of sales tax liabilities. Simultaneously, the company is also in discussions with banks for meeting the repayment obligations as may be finalised with Gujarat Government.

Essar Oil reported net loss of Rs 3986 crore in Q3 December 2011, compared with net profit of Rs 273 crore in Q3 December 2010. Net sales rose 5% to Rs 13119 crore in Q3 December 2011 over Q3 December 2010.

Essar Oil, a subsidiary of Essar Energy, is a fully integrated oil & gas company with strong presence across the hydrocarbon value chain from exploration & production to refining and oil retail. It has a global portfolio of onshore and offshore oil & gas blocks, with about 2.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserves & resources.