Russian MinFin awaiting govt decisions on fuel damper price indicator, proposing two-stage increase

MOSCOW. July 2 (Interfax) - The Russian Finance Ministry is awaiting decisions from the government regarding raising the threshold for deviations from price indicators in the fuel damper after which payments to oil producers are zeroed out, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov told reporters.

"All the documents are with the government, we are waiting for a decision. There are various options. The oil companies propose to raise the deviation range to 20% [for gasoline] and 30% [for diesel]. The Finance Ministry proposes 15% and 25%. As a compromise, we are suggesting a two-stage increase, first 15% and 25% for a period of one to two years, then to move on to what the industry proposes, 20% and 30%. The final decision is for the government to make, we awaiting it," Sazanov said.

It was reported earlier that the government is studying a proposal to raise the threshold for deviations from indicative prices in the damper formula where the subsidy is reduced to zero for oil companies. The threshold is now 10% for gasoline and 20% for diesel.

Under the current Tax Code, if wholesale gasoline and diesel prices in Russia increase too much and deviate from the indicative prices (60,450 rubles per tonne for gasoline and 57,200 rubles per tonne for diesel in 2025) by more than 10% and 20%, respectively, on average for a month, a damper subsidy is not paid for that month.