BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 14
By Nargiz Sadikhova – Trend:
Kazakhstan implemented a number of support measures for the country's oil and gas industry in 2020, taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic, a source in the Ministry of Energy told Trend.
According to the source, at a meeting of the State Commission on Ensuring Emergency State, it was decided for energy-producing entities that use renewable energy sources (RES) and have valid purchase agreements with the settlement and financial center, to envisage an extension of the deadline for submitting a copy of the notice of the start of construction and installation work and (or) copies of the act of acceptance into operation of the facility for the use of RES for a period not exceeding one calendar year.
The source stressed that one of the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic was the closure of borders, which also complicated the process of attracting foreign specialists to carry out construction and installation work.
Due to this, the dates of the start of the commissioning have shifted.
At the same time, currently, work is underway to establish the issuance of permits to foreign specialists and the supply of equipment with the Interdepartmental Commission for Preventing COVID-19 Infection Emergence and Spread in Kazakhstan and the authorized state bodies of the country.
1) Tax legislation provides for the following measures to maintain the financial and economic stability of subsoil users in the event of unfavorable conditions in the world oil market:
• Linking the rental tax to the oil price;
• Linking export customs duties to oil prices;
• Rate of mineral extraction tax for oil for fields classified as low-profit.
In addition, the source noted, a moratorium was introduced on preventive control of controlled entities and visits to subsoil users until the end of 2020 (with the exception of permits and unscheduled procedures) by authorized bodies in the fields of hydrocarbons and the production of petroleum products, as well as by the competent authority.
2) The Ministry of Energy was instructed to work out the possibility of postponing the deadlines for the fulfillment of contract and license obligations for applications from subsoil users for 2020, as well as work programs for subsequent years without the application of penalties.
3) To support domestic oil refining, the Government of Kazakhstan has taken a number of the following measures:
• cancelling the ban on the export of oil products by road outside of Kazakhstan;
• cancelling the ban on oil products outside the countries of the Customs Union;
• exempting producers of excisable goods for gasoline and diesel fuel, sold for export, from excise taxes;
• banning rail deliveries of gasoline and diesel fuel from the Russian Federation to Kazakhstan;
• zeroing the rates of export customs duties on petroleum products, including petrol, diesel fuel and fuel oil.
