YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, July 16 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s state-controlled oil giant Rosneft is ready to invest 1 trillion rubles ($30 billion) in the development of East Siberia and the Russian Far East in the next five years, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said Tuesday.
Sechin made his statement during a visit to Rosneft’s Orlan oil platform in the Sea of Okhotsk off Sakhalin Island. Sechin was speaking in a video conference with President Vladimir Putin who was near Sakhalin monitoring military exercises.
“In the next five years, with your [Putin’s] support, and given that the tariff policy and the tax regime stabilize, our investment in East Siberia and the Far East in a conservative scenario may total 1 trillion rubles,” Sechin said.
Rosneft will invest 52 billion rubles ($1.6 billion) this year in developing its core activities in the Russian Far East, Sechin said, including 27 billion rubles ($830 million) in exploration and production, and 23 billion rubles ($705 million) in refining.
Sechin called in early July for a large reduction in the tax burden on the oil industry, Vedomosti business newspaper reported.
Sechin said in a presentation that oil companies’ tax base should be cut from 55 percent to 35 percent to stimulate new investment and generate a windfall of up to 6 trillion rubles ($180 billion) for the state budget by 2030, according to Vedomosti.
Taxation in the Russian fuel and energy sector will be discussed at a meeting on the social and economic development of the Sakhalin Region later in the day, Putin said during a video conference.
“As for taxation, we’ll speak about this today at a meeting on the development of the Sakhalin Region. I’m sure solutions will be found that will be acceptable for both producers, the regional budget and the central budget,” Putin said.
