Russia may switch to Brent-based oil taxes – Kommersant

After the G7 grouping introduced a price ceiling on Russian oil, the gap between Urals, the traditional Russian crude benchmark, and Brent has widened to up to $40 per barrel, the paper said.

To avoid excessive damage to budget revenue from lowering oil taxes, President Vladimir Putin last month ordered the government to draft proposals on adjusting the tax framework, and switching to a Brent-based model featuring discounts and freight costs calculated monthly is the key idea so far, the daily cited anonymous sources as saying.

The move is certain to increase the tax burden on the sector and may prompt companies to start cutting output, it added.