PRESS: Regions ask to cut tax burden on hard to recover oil fields

MOSCOW, Feb 18 (PRIME) – The leaders of the Russian oil producing regions with a high degree of brownfields and hard-to-recover reserves, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District and the Tatarstan republic, have sent a letter to the president, asking to reduce the tax burden which soared after a reform in 2020, business daily Kommersant reported on Thursday, citing the letter.

"The regional leaders ask to expand the added income tax and to make a separate taxation group for the for brownfields by envisaging an opportunity to include the costs of development of supplementary businesses, refining, petrochemicals, in its calculation,” the newspaper reported.

“And starting from 2022, to separate the ultra-viscous and highly-viscous oil fields in a group with a lower mineral extraction tax (MET)."

The officials asked to cut the MET on hard-to-recover reserves by 10–15% and to abolish the elevating coefficient of 428 rubles per tonne introduced in 2017. The heads of the regions also want a smaller MET for little fields in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District.

Kommersant reported citing sources that the proposals would be discussed at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on Thursday.

(73.7669 rubles – U.S. $1)

End