India's blue-chip oil marketing companies - Indian Oil, HPCL and BPCL - also on the Fortune 500 list, are expected to announce heavy losses with the finance ministry slashing their subsidy demand of Rs. 55,412 crore for the first half of 2012-13 to Rs. 30,000 crore. As the finance ministry is currently battling a tight fiscal situation, it has refused to approve the full subsidy compensationsought by the petroleum ministry, said sources.

"Even the slashed subsidy compensation of Rs. 30,000 crore will not be released by the finance ministry in one go but in three to four installments," said a petroleum ministry official.

The subsidy is released by the finance ministry to these firms for selling diesel, cooking gas and kerosene at rates below their cost of production. All the three are currently losing Rs. 9.82 per litre on diesel, Rs. 33.93 a litre on kerosene and Rs. 468.50 per 14.2-kg subsidised LPG cylinder.

All three had together reported losses of Rs. 40,500 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal.