Rosneft's Vankor to Pay Full Export Duty from May

Rosneft (ROSN.MM), Russia's largest oil company, will pay the full crude export duty from May 1 as oil prices have reached new peaks, deputy finance minister Sergei Shatalov said.

"Rosneft has agreed that with the current oil prices and in the current environment, they are doing quite well ... If there are no technical glitches, there will be no tax breaks (from May 1)," Shatalov told reporters on April 8, 2011.

Rosneft shares were down 1.5 percent at 1030 GMT, with broader market 0.7 percent lower.

Vankor, a key driver behind record oil production in Russia, the world's top crude exporter, was one of 22 east Siberian fields exempt from full export duty, set at $423.7 per tonne this month. Vankor currently pays $191 per tonne.

With a tax-break extension, Rosneft could have saved over $3 billion a year. Last month, the company head Eduard Khudainatov asked Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to extend the benefits for up to two more years, citing harsh Arctic weather and logistical problems.

Shatalov said the cancellation of the tax breaks had been agreed by Rosneft chairman Igor Sechin, Russia's deputy prime minister and the energy ministry.