Russia to Cut Jan Oil Export Duty 2 Pct to $397.5/T

 
Russia's crude oil export duty will be decreased from Jan. 1 by 2 percent to $397.5 per tonne from $406.6 in December due to lower crude prices, finance ministry data and Reuters calculations showed on Dec. 15, 2011.

This is slightly above the range calculated earlier this week.

The final oil export duty for January is based on the seaborne Urals URL-E crude average price from Nov. 15 to Dec. 14 inclusive.

Finance Ministry official Alexander Sakovich told Reuters the average oil price for this period stood at $109.09 per barrel, down from $111.17 in the previous time span. Urals closed at $106.21 per barrel on Dec. 14, 2011.

The export rate is officially announced by the government at the end of each month.

The export duty on crude from some new fields in East Siberia -- apart from the Vankor, Talakan and Verkhechonskoye fields -- and the Caspian Sea, which enjoy a lower rate than Russian crude from other production areas, will be cut to $194.1 per tonne from $200.9 in December.

Earlier this week a government subcommission recommended to include Gazprom's Arctic offshore field Prirazlomnoye to this list of deposits with a preferential tax rate.

Exports of gasoline and naphtha, which are subject to a protective export duty to ease the domestic supply shortage, will carry a levy of $357.7 a tonne from Jan. 1, down from $365.9 in December.

The duty on other refined products, such as diesel and fuel oil, is to decrease next month to $262.3 per tonne from $268.3 this month.