MOSCOW: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich has ordered the energy and finance ministry to rework proposed changes to oil production taxes, the government said on Wednesday.
Russia could increase oil production next year to as much as 551 million tonnes, or 11.07 million barrels per day (bpd), and was poised to begin testing a new tax regime to support output growth. The changes to the law relate in particular to how the government was going to tax mature oilfields with high water content. The bulk of Russia’s oil production comes from mature fields in western Siberia and is subject to two key taxes – the mineral extraction tax (MET) and the oil export duty. The changes in the taxation could be significant for Rosneft , Russia’s biggest oil producer, which has been lobbying for a lower MET at its large Samotlor oilfield, which is battling water inundation.
