The Russian government wants to quadruple operating fees applied to gas producers

2012-05-03 13:36:20

The Russian government decided Wednesday to increase fees proposed for Gazprom to other gas producers, who in 2015 will pay about 1,000 rubles ( USD 34) per thousand cubic meters, four times more than in the present. The shares of independent company Novatek declined by over 10 percent from the information that the producer will pay a fee to exploit mineral deposits almost similar to that of Gazprom. Gazprom titles fell by 1 percent, after fell by about 15 percent since March, when it became clear the major impact of increased tax. Russian Government wants to increase budget revenues, after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has promised massive spending before of winning elections in March. Putin will return to the Kremlin Monday, May 7. The consulting firm Capital Economics estimates that Putin's election promises will reach annual cost of 4,800 billion rubles (USD 163 billion) and 4 -5 percent of GDP by 2018. Gas producers have traditionally paid lower taxes than oil companies which, according to analysts, can not support further increases without reducing deliveries. Under the new provisions relating to gas operation, the state will receive 80 percent of extra revenues generated by increasing prices. Revenues from oil and gas account half of Russia's federal budget.Gazprom obtained last year a net profit increase of 35 percent to almost USD 45 billion, the largest profit reported by any company traded on a stock exchange worldwide.