"Such a decision needs assessments," Vladimir Putin said, speaking at a session of the State Council and the Maritime Board, a government agency overseeing seaports and the commercial fleet, in the ice-free Barents Sea port of Murmansk in northern Russia.
The tax breaks proposal came from Sergei Bogdanchikov, head of state-controlled producer Rosneft [RTS: ROSN], who said the idea had been approved by the Industry and Energy Ministry and backed by the economics ministry, but that no final decision had been made.
"The decision is needed for the sector to make a stride forward," Bogdanchikov said.
Russia, heavily dependent on revenues from oil and gas exports, is in need of new deposits to meet its obligations under new ambitious projects to supply oil to Pacific Rim countries, as well as Europe and the United States via the Balkans.
Bogdanchikov said Russia would increase the production of oil at its offshore deposits five-fold, to 80-85 million metric tons (about 624.7 million bbl), by 2015.
He said $8 billion would be required to build vessels, including 30 tankers, icebreakers, and tugboats, to carry oil.
