Russia’s oil revenues almost hit annual low
6.02.2025 - 10:56
Russia received record low oil revenues in January due to falling prices and rising costs to support oil refiners.
Russian budget revenues from oil in January 2025 approached an annual minimum. This is reported by Bloomberg analysts.
The loss of revenues to the Kremlin budget was a consequence of a decrease in world oil prices and subsidies to Russian oil refiners. Total revenues from oil and gas amounted to 789.1 billion rubles. The main share (73%) was provided by crude oil and petroleum products.
Tax revenues from oil in January increased to 572.6 billion rubles ($ 5.8 billion) against 501.2 billion rubles in January 2024. The Russian Ministry of Finance calculated these taxes based on the average Urals price of $ 63.44 per barrel in December. Although this is 2% higher than a year ago, the average monthly price remains close to a year-low.
Urals oil, which trades at a discount to global benchmarks, has lost value due to oversupply and weaker demand in China. At the same time, global oil production continues to grow, which also increases pressure on quotes.
In addition to falling prices, the budget is being squeezed by significant state subsidies to the oil industry. In January, the Russian government paid 156 billion rubles ($1.5 billion) to refiners to compensate for fuel supplies to the domestic market. This is the highest level of subsidies in the past five months.
At the same time, the weakening ruble has affected the nominal growth of income in the national currency. The average exchange rate was 102.47 rubles per dollar, almost 13% weaker than a year ago.
Unlike the oil industry, Moscow’s gas sector revenues grew by almost 25% in January to 216 billion rubles. This is due to increased pipeline gas exports and growing demand in the domestic market. As USM wrote the day before, US sanctions have made it difficult for Russia to ship premium oil from Sakhalin.
