Damper payments to oilmen amounted to 103.5 billion rubles in May

In May, Russian oilmen received 103.5 billion rubles from the budget for the fuel damper, follows from data Ministry of Finance on the formation and use of additional oil and gas revenues.

The damping mechanism, introduced in 2019, is designed to contain the growth of fuel prices within the Russian Federation. It assumes that at higher export prices for fuel than in the domestic market (the so-called conditional domestic price is taken as an indicator), refineries receive payments from the budget. In the opposite situation, the oilmen themselves must pay extra to the budget.

Last year, refineries received record damper payments of RUB 2.2 trillion, which is 3.2 times more than in 2021. In April 2023, damper payments to oil workers amounted to RUB 107.2 billion, in March – 96.7 billion rubles, in February – 108.7 billion rubles, and in January – 47.9 billion rubles.

At the end of April, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov offered reduce fuel damper payments by half during the year – from July 2023 to July 2024. As a result of the adjustment, the budget will save up to 30 billion rubles. per month. This, among other things, led to an increase in wholesale prices for gasoline: in May, exchange prices for fuel approached to absolute maximums.

After the strengthening of anti-Russian sanctions because of the NWO in Ukraine, the European Union, the largest buyer of Russian oil products, imposed an embargo on their supplies. It came into effect on February 5, 2023, at the same time as the fuel price ceiling. The price limit for more expensive oil products (eg diesel fuel and gasoline) is $100/bbl, for cheaper ones (fuel oil) – $45/bbl. As a result, Russia had to look for new buyers of oil products in Asia, Africa and Latin America.