Page 106 - RusRPTApr23

Russia's oil and gas budget revenues in January-February 2023 dropped by 46% year on year to RUB947bn, Kommersant daily reported citing the preliminary data from the Finance Ministry.
The drop in oil and gas revenues is attributed to a drop in the price of Urals oil and a decrease in the volume of gas exports.
The FinMin commented that recently adopted amendments to the oil and gas sector’s taxation legislation will lead to a recovery of collections from the oil and gas sector.
As covered by bne IntelliNews, the mushrooming of the discount on Russia’s Urals blend of oil versus the benchmark Brent has pushed Russian federal budget to a record-high deficit in January 2023. In response, the Finance Ministry meddled with the benchmark oil price to raise revenues.
The ministry also commented that the use of the National Welfare Fund (NWF) to cover shortfalls in oil and gas revenues "ensures stability of the budget system to fluctuations". Non-oil and gas revenues in 2M23 amounted to RUB2.2 trillion, a 9% decline y/y due to lower income tax receipts.
At the same time, expenditures increased by 52% compared to the same period in 2022, to RUB5.7 trillion. While the spending breakdown was not disclosed, spending on “public procurements” in 2M23 jumped 3-fold y/y to RUB2.1 trillion.
This confirms the previous reports that Russia's budget deficit is widening as oil prices fall and military spending rises.
106 RUSSIA Country Report Russia April 2023 www.intellinews.com