Due to exchange rate fluctuations, MET payments are growing, which does not allow oil and gas companies to fix prices for domestic consumers at the pre-crisis level, according to a letter from the head of Novatek, Leonid Mikhelson
Photo: Andrey Rudakov / Bloomberg
In the conditions of an unstable macroeconomic situation, it is necessary to maintain stable prices for raw materials for petrochemical products, Novatek told RBC, commenting on the proposal of the head of the company Leonid Mikhelson to reduce the MET (mineral extraction tax) on raw materials for petrochemicals. About a letter with such a proposal to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said “Kommersant”.
“It is very important for Russia to maintain stable prices for hydrocarbon raw materials for petrochemical products in the current unstable macroeconomic conditions. Novatek is also a supplier of this raw material,” the company told RBC.
Novatek also reported that the government is discussing measures “to maintain balance and stability in prices for raw materials and petrochemical products.”
In a letter to Mishustin, Mikhelson proposes from March 1 until the end of 2022 to calculate the MET at the pre-crisis dollar rate (at the rate of 75 rubles per dollar). According to the head of Novatek, would this help to contain the prices of raw materials for Russian petrochemicals.
The severance tax is calculated on the basis of market quotations for raw materials and the exchange rate of the ruble against the dollar, fluctuations in the exchange rate lead to a significant increase in tax payments, which does not allow oil and gas companies to fix prices for domestic consumers at the pre-crisis level, the letter says.