In a letter addressed to the federal Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Sechin says that Rosneft should get a number of additional on-land and offshore field licenses and that oil export from complex and Arctic offshore fields should have an unlimited zero-tax oil export regime.
The measure can help compensate for the sanctions introduced by western countries, Sechin argues. The authentizity of the letter has been confirmed by the federal official, Oilru.com reports with reference to Vedomosti.
Currently, complex (category 3) and Arctic (category 4) offshore oil and gas fields have a zero-tax regime which lasts until year 2037 and 2042 respectively. On-land oil and gas fields are offered to companies based on auctions, while offshore fields are offered only to the state companies Gazprom or Rosneft without tenders.
According to Vedomosti, Sechin is unlikely to get all his desired additional benefits from government. On the contrary, on the backdrop of the current difficult economic situation in Russia, the federal ministries might want to take more, not less, money from the companies.
As previously reported, the Russian economy is performing increasingly weak and is about to dip into recession.
Furthermore, the Russian license-granting procedures are rooted in an established system, which the government will be reluctant to change. And Rosneft aleady has a beneficial tax regime for its offshore projects.
At the same time, Rosneft could ultimately win through with some of its claims. Sechin is a close associate of President Vladimir Putin and has on several earlier occasions managed to force through his will despite opposition from key members of the government.
The US in April first introduced sanction against Igor Sechin and then followed up with sanction also against Rosneft in July. The EU followed suit in July and banned exports to Russia of technology and equipment of key importance for the country’s energy sector. The US and EU sanctions also target a number of Russian banks, consequently making it harder for them to raise capital.
Rosneft is seriously endebted after a number of company aquisitions and major investment projects. The company now has total net debts amounting to about $44,5 billion, Vedomosti informs.
