Russia Plans to Reduce Discount on Oil Exports

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stated in comments published today, Tuesday, that "the Ministry of Finance intends to reduce the discount used to determine taxes on the country’s crude oil exports to $20 per barrel from the current $25." He clarified in an interview that "the discount currently stands at $25 per barrel off the price of Brent crude. We plan to reduce it to $20 per barrel. We are considering other measures to improve the tax calculations on oil exports." The minister did not provide further details on the other measures under consideration but added that "the ministry will collect eight trillion rubles ($88.5 billion) from oil and gas revenues in 2023 based on the current Brent price of around $80 per barrel." Siluanov noted, "The budget deficit is expected to be about 2 to 2.5 percent of GDP by the end of the year," emphasizing that "we have sufficient resources to meet planned expenditures and additional resources will emerge." Russia's oil and crude revenue fell by 47 percent year-on-year in the first six months of this year, which the ministry attributed to a decline in Urals crude prices and a drop in natural gas exports.