Ministry of Finance: the average price of Urals dropped to $47 per barrel

The average price for the Russian grade Urals oil from December 15, 2022 to January 14 was $46.82/bbl, informed Ministry of Finance of Russia.

“The average price for Urals oil for the monitoring period from December 15, 2022 to January 14, 2023 amounted to $46.82 per barrel, or $341.8 per ton,” the report says.

AT period from November 15 to December 14, Urals oil cost an average of $57.49/bbl, and month earlier – $71.1/bbl.

From February 1, the export duty will decrease by $3.9 to $12.8 per ton, the Ministry of Finance noted. The duty on light oil products will drop to $3.8 from $5.0 per ton, on commercial gasoline – to $3.8, and on straight-run – to $7. The duty on liquefied gas (SPBT) will be $21, and on coke – $0.8 per ton.

On December 5, the ceiling on Russian oil prices of $60 per barrel, introduced by the EU and G7 countries, came into force, it is expected to be reviewed every two months so that the ceiling level is 5% lower than the price of Urals. For oil products, the restriction will come into effect on February 5. In addition to the EU countries, the G7 countries and Australia also joined the ceiling.

Earlier, on January 11, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak acknowledgedthat the introduction of a price cap led to difficulties in the form of a high discount on raw materials. However, he hoped that the situation would be temporary. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in turn, urged draw attention to the situation with the discount.

On the same day, the Ministry of Finance announced that the budget for January could not receive RUB 54.5 billion oil and gas revenues. The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank also announced on the resumption of foreign exchange interventions within the framework of the fiscal rule.

A day earlier, Bloomberg reported that Russian Urals oil on January 6 sold at a price one and a half times lower than the established price ceiling – $37.8 per barrel. At the same time, benchmark Brent crude was trading at $78.57 that day.

After that, the Ministry of Energy admitted introduction of additional measures to counteract the price ceiling for Russian oil. In particular, they can be aimed at “limiting the possible discount” on Russian raw materials for deliveries abroad “up to the limits based on market prices.”