Russia will increase its oil export duty in April by around 6 percent to $268.9 per tonne to mirror a rise in oil prices, according to Finance Ministry figures and Reuters calculations. East Siberian fields are expected to be exempt from the duty again next month.
The export duty, a major factor in the financial results of Russia's oil companies, is based on monitoring of international prices for Russia's benchmark Urals crude blend. The April duty will be based on prices from February 15 to March 14. Finance Ministry official Alexander Sakovich said on Monday the average price of Urals in the latest monitoring period was $75.52 per barrel compared with $72.31 for the previous period.
Export duties on light refined products, such as gasoline and gas oil, will total $193.5 per tonne, up from the current level of $183.2 per tonne. On heavy refined products, such as fuel oil, the April tariff will be set at $104.2, compared with $98.7 per tonne in March.
The April oil duty was in line with the $268-$269 range forecast by the ministry on March 11, three days before the end of the monitoring period. Russia abandoned the export duty for 13 East Siberian oil fields from December 1 and added nine more fields in East Siberia in the middle of January, but the decision on whether to impose the fees on the deposits is taken every month.
Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft reaps the most benefit from the zero duty, which applies to its huge Arctic Vankor deposit. Surgutneftegas and TNK-BP, 50 percent-owned by BP, also enjoy exemption from the fees in the area. The Finance Ministry is against the exemption and has said the budget could lose up to 120 billion roubles ($4.1 billion) this year alone because of it.
However, the Energy Ministry said the absence of fees for the far-flung fields is an investment incentive and should be applied long-term. Sakovich said East Siberian deposits will likely be exempt from the duty next month. "(It) looks like the zero duty will be kept in April, too," he told Reuters.