Russian govt to discuss tax formula for gas, ministry to report position on LNG
ST. PETERSBURG. March 15 (Interfax) - Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich will soon hold a meeting on selecting a formula for the natural resource extraction tax (NRET) on gas, Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters.
"We and the Finance Ministry have disagreements on the formula. Dvorkovich will soon hold a meeting on choosing an option. I think that we should also soon decide on the formula options. Documents will also be submitted to the State Duma," Novak said.
Another senior government official told journalists at the Duma on Friday that "we haven't managed to agree on the formula with the Energy Ministry yet."
"I think this will be submitted for a higher-level discussion soon," Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Shatalov said.
"A final decision needs to be taken," he said.
He also said that within a month the Energy Ministry will finally work out and announce its position concerning the prospect of lifting Gazprom's monopoly on exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
"The issue is in the process of being worked out. This was one of the goals of my trips to China, Japan, South Korea - in order to meet with companies, with representatives of government agencies, to talk with them about the possibility of selling product for export," Novak said.
"We have prepared a final decision. I think that within a month the issue will be finally worked out and reported," Novak said.
Dvorkovich said earlier that he might ask for the NRET formula for gas to be submitted even with disagreements in order to hold a meeting in mid-March.
The issue of lifting Gazprom's monopoly on LNG exports was raised at a meeting of the president's energy commission in mid-February. The proposal is being lobbied by independent gas producer Novatek , state oil major Rosneft and the Energy Ministry. However, the government is looking for ways to minimize competition for Russian gas on global markets if LNG exports are liberalized.
The Energy Ministry earlier proposed creating a special government agency that would coordinate companies' bids to export given amounts of LNG to various markets.