The Oil and Gas Sector

The world market in 2012 was characterized by the persistence of high global oil and natural gas prices. The average price of Russian Urals crude oil on the European market, according to preliminary estimates, amounted to $ 110.3 per barrel, and that of Russian natural gas – to $ 418,2 per 1,000 m?, which translated into high profits of Russian oil and gas companies and considerable revenues of the state budget. Oil production in Russia in 2012 will amount to approximately 516m tons, which is the historic high of the last twenty-two years. Some additional tax measures designed to stimulate the development of new hydrocarbon deposits have been introduced.