NewsRescue
The proceeds from oil and gas sales in Russia reached their highest level in one and a half years in October, according to Rossiyskaya Gazeta on Wednesday.
According to the outlet, the country’s revenue from energy exports reached 1.63 trillion rubles ($17.7 billion) last month, despite forecasts of a massive deficit. According to the article, Russia’s energy revenues have only been higher once – in April 2022, when profits reached 1.8 trillion rubles.
Among the factors contributing to record profits were rising crude prices for Russia’s flagship Urals blend. A barrel of Urals cost an average of $83.08 in September, compared to $61.84 in the first ten months of this year.
Russian energy companies pay a mineral extraction tax (MET), which varies depending on oil prices and accounts for the main share of government revenues from the sale of oil and gas. The MET alone contributed 950 billion rubles ($10 billion) to the budget last month, according to the outlet.
Furthermore, Russian oil companies paid additional income tax (ATT) for the third quarter in October, adding 593 billion rubles ($6.4 billion) to the budget, an 18-month high.
Furthermore, oil producers did not receive damper payments for September last month, despite sharp increases in market prices for petrol and diesel fuel in Russia, which helped the budget save significantly. Damper is paid to refineries in exchange for supplying fuel to the domestic market at lower prices than exports. According to the outlet, damper payments from the Russian budget totaled nearly 300 billion rubles ($3.25 billion) in August.