Russia's government has scrapped export duty for crude oil produced at 13 East Siberian fields starting Dec. 1, in a move designed to stimulate production and investment in the region, the government said on its Web site Friday.
Russia 's government has scrapped export duty for crude oil produced at 13 East Siberian fields starting Dec. 1, in a move designed to stimulate production and investment in the region, the government said on its Web site Friday.

Under the decree, oil produced at a number of East Siberian fields, including OAO Rosneft's (ROSN.RS) giant Vankor field, TNK-BP Ltd's Verkhnechonsk field and OAO Surgutneftegaz' (SNGS.RS) Talakan field will be exempt from export duty as of Dec. 1.

The measure was first discussed in February at a meeting between the government and oil executives, and was approved by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in July. But the government Friday offered no indication on how long the exemption will last.

As output from many fields in West Siberia --traditionally Russia 's main oil production area--has peaked, Russian oil majors have grown eager to boost production in largely undeveloped East Siberia . However, uncertainty over the taxes imposed in the region has hampered the large-scale investments required.

In August, Rosneft launched its Vankor field--the biggest in the region--with estimated recoverable reserves of 3.8 billion barrels of oil and current production of 180,000 barrels a day.

Russian oil majors like Rosneft have complained it is difficult to make investment decisions in the region without clarity on how many years the exemption will last.

This week, Rosneft sold 100,000 metric tons of East Siberian crude to Finnish company IPP OY, which will be shipped from Russia 's new oil port in Kozmino on the Pacific Coast in late December. A company spokesman didn't know whether the duty exemption will apply to that cargo.

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