Russia to use Dated Brent in tax calculations to protect state budget from Urals discount

摘要

The Russian parliament Feb. 16 approved the use of a maximum discount to the Dated Brent crude oil benchmark, rather than the Urals price, in calculating domestic oil taxation from April. The move is a bid to mitigate the impact of lower prices for Russian oil on the state budget. Russia's key crude grade Urals has traded at sizeable discounts to Dated Brent since the invasion of Ukraine last February, which triggered wide-ranging sanctions and a shift away from Russian oil among traditional buyers in Europe.