Moscow eyes gas tax boost
20.07.2010 10:31
Russia may raise its mineral extraction tax on gas by between 10% and 15% from 1 January next year, the first increase since 2005, according to reports.
Russia's top energy official Igor Sechin discussed raising the tax with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Sunday, while a series of meetings with other officials were held on the issue on Friday, business daily Vedomosti reported.
Earlier this month Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said he was looking to raise the oil and gas extraction tax to 0.5% of gross domestic product, which would amount to $6 billion, to plug the country's 5.9% budget deficit.
Russian gas giant Gazprom , which has successfully fought off the Finance Ministry's proposed tax increases for years is set to discuss the issue at a board meeting on Tuesday, Vedomosti reported.
A Gazprom spokesman told Reuters the topics up for discussion at the meeting will be determined later today.
Gas producers currently pay 147 roubles ($4.83) per 1000 cubic meters of gas extracted, and a 15% increase would raise that to 169 roubles per Mcm.
VTB Capital said a 15% tax increase would result in a 2% decline in Gazprom's EBITDA and a 3.5% drop in Novatek's.
"Novatek is therefore twice as sensitive to an increase in mineral extraction tax than Gazprom," the bank said in its morning market analyst note
Source : Upstreamonline
