Urals price may be tied to Brent or Dubai varieties for tax purposes

The authorities have begun intensive discussions on changing the principles for calculating the price of oil for tax purposes against the backdrop of a sharp decline in the cost of Urals in recent months. Two sources close to the government told Vedomosti about this, the information was confirmed by an interlocutor close to one of the oil companies. On January 11, at a meeting of the president with members of the government, the issue of increasing the Urals discount was discussed, among other things. Vladimir Putin asked Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak to analyze this problem so that it “does not create any problems with the budget,” one of the interlocutors recalled.

The quotes are calculated by the Argus pricing agency, the data are aggregated and published by the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Finance, based on them, determines the amount of the mineral extraction tax (MET), additional income tax and export duties.