RusEnergy

14 May 2008 - Upstream OnLine - Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has put forward proposals to grant a seven-year tax break to producers developing fields on Russia’s continental shelf, the Yamal peninsula and Timan-Pechora, in a bid to boost output by 13.7% - 67 million tonnes (1.3 million barrels per day) - by 2015. A Reuters report said a similar tax break is currently available for East Siberian producers. Putin also called on the lower house of the Duma parliament to reduce the mineral extraction tax on oil. Russia produced 491,481 million tonnes last year, a rise of 2.3%. In April, production stood at 9.72 million bpd, a decline from last year.