2018 was supposed to be a transformative year in Russia – presidential elections are looming, the Russian economy is expected to bust out of its current slump and the oil sector’s tax regime was set for significant changes. The long-mooted move to implement a switch to an excess-profits tax-based (EPT) regime has long been the pet project of Russia’s Ministry of Finances, yet recent developments suggest the ambitious scope of the proposed reforms will most likely be brought to naught. It would be a shame if this happens, as the EPT would be conducive both to the revival of Western-Siberian oil fields and the kick-starting of new resource-rich productive formations. Most industry actors agree that the current oil taxation regime in Russia is inefficient, stymieing the development of new fields in Eastern Siberia and other as of yet largely untapped regions and the enhancement of production from brownfield projects […]