Russia to hike crude export duty to record $27.4/barrel from June

Russia to hike crude export duty to record $27.4/barrel from June

Moscow (Platts)--28Apr2006

Russia's crude export duty will climb to a new record of $199.8-200/mt
($27.4/bbl) from June 1, 2006, up some 7.3% from a current $186.4/mt following
a rise in Urals crude prices, a senior finance ministry official said Friday.
Russia reviews export duties every two months on the basis of an average
world price for Urals crude, the country's main export grade. The Urals crude
average world price in March and April stood at $60.95-60.98/barrel, according
to Russia's finance ministry. The exact figure of the new export duty will be
known after the last trading day in April this Friday.
The oil products duty is also to rise to $146.9-147/mt from $137.9/mt
currently, said Aleksandr Sakovich, the finance ministry official in charge of
price monitoring and duty setting. The move will change the prices of
gasoline, kerosene, gasoil and other light products.
The fuel oil duty will rise to $79-79.2/mt. The current fuel oil duty is
$74.3/mt.
The new oil products duty will come in force in late June or early July,
as Russia usually revises products duties some 20 to 25 days after changes in
crude duties.
Yet the new products duties may only be effective for a month as Russia's
Parliament may pass amendments to law, which will synchronize the introduction
of crude oil and products export duties, Sakovich said. If such a decision is
made during the next two months, then from August 1 the duties for crude oil
and products will be introduced simultaneously.
"There are no disagreements there, it only refers to legislators and the
government, and the government backs the move," he said.
--Anna Shiryaevskaya, anna_shiryaevskaya@platts.com

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