Page 138 - RusRPTMar23

Russia expects the discount on Russia’s Urals oil to go down gradually, including due to new taxation, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on February 21. "We believe that the discount should be going down gradually. Amendments to the legislation have been adopted from the viewpoint of taxation. Taxation is planned considering a decrease in the discount to $25 within four months. This will encourage a decrease in the discount," he said.
Russian exports of discounted crude and fuel oil to China have jumped to record levels in January as the re-opening of the world’s biggest energy importer gathers pace after the dismantling of Covid Zero. The buying spree was likely underpinned by private refiners, but state-owned processors are now showing more interest in Russian crude after concerns around potential blowback from the US and allies kept them on the sidelines. Russia’s overall crude and fuel oil exports to China reached 1.66mn barrels a day last month, according to Kpler data as of February 20. That’s more than the previous record set in April 2020 when the Asian nation was emerging from its initial virus restrictions. Crude and condensate flows rose to 1.52mn barrels a day, just short of a record set almost three years ago.
The Druzhba pipeline will supply Germany with Kazakh oil instead of Russian. Kazakhstan will send its first batch of oil through the Russian Druzhba oil pipeline to Germany as soon as possible, saidthe Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan, Bolat Akchulakov. Kazakhstan's resources will replace Russian oil, which the EU has pledged to stop buying as part of broader sanctions put in place following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The Druzhba
138 RUSSIA Country Report March 2023 www.intellinews.com