Russia plans to lower oil export discount to $20/bbl, says finance minister

Russia’s finance ministry plans to cut the discount it uses to set taxes on the country’s crude oil exports to $20 per barrel from $25 currently, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in remarks published on Tuesday.

Western sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including the $60 a barrel price cap on Russian crude exports and the European Union’s import ban, have forced the Kremlin to change the way it taxes oil sales.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in February signed a law fixing the discount on Russia’s dominant Urals blend of crude oil for tax calculations.