New Record High Export Tariffs for Crude Oil Introduced in Russia on October 1

On Saturday, October 1, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov signed an order introducing new export tariffs for crude oil. For the next two months the tariff will equal $179.9 per metric ton.

Export tariffs are usually reviewed once every two months and are calculated using a special formula based on the average price of Russia?s crude oil on the international market during the previous two months. The new tax is based on price dynamics in July and August.

Previous export tariffs for Russian crude amounted to $140 per metric ton and $136 per metric ton.

Export tariffs for crude oil far exceed those for light and dark oil products and Russian oil companies are increasingly looking to make a transition to oil products which bring them more profit. In the first seven months of the year the export of oil products from Russia grew by 43 percent, while the export of crude oil grew by only 10 percent.