<div>State-run producer Oil India expects to increase profit by Rs 1,000 crore annually on account of the increase in gas prices, its finance head said on Friday. "This will incentivise us to get more aggressive in exploration activity," Oil India Finance Director T.K. Ananth Kumar told Reuters. Natural gas segment contributes about 10-12 per cent of Oil India's revenues.<br /><br />Meanwhile state-run gas company GAIL expects a hit of Rs 1,300 crore annually on pre-tax profits on account of higher costs in its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and petrochemicals businesses, its finance head said. "We have a solid case for withdrawal of subsidy burden now. We are already taking up the case with the ministry," GAIL's Finance Director P.K. Jain told Reuters. GAIL bore subsidy costs of about Rs 2,700 crore in 2012-13 as part of the government's scheme to compensate state oil retailers for selling petroleum products below costs. <br /><br />On Thursday, the government approved a gas price hike for the first time in three years. Indicative pricing suggests domestic gas could rise to around $8.4 per mmBtu from April 1, 2014, compared with $4.2 per mmBtu currently. <br /><br />(Reuters)</div>
