MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian state's oil and gas revenues rose by around 15% in September, month-on-month, to 739.9 billion roubles ($7.44 billion), finance ministry data showed on Wednesday, thanks to a rise in proceeds from the mineral extraction tax.
Revenues from oil and gas sales, crucial for Russia's commodity-oriented economy, were also up 7.5% compared to the same month in 2022.
This was broadly in line with Reuters' preliminary calculations.
Oil and gas revenues in the entire January-September period declined by 34.5% to 5.576 trillion roubles, year-on-year.
Russia's energy revenues have been squeezed by Western sanctions, such as price caps and an embargo on seaborne oil exports, and by the closure of the Nord Stream gas pipelines to Europe, which were blown up in September 2022. Investigators have yet to establish who was responsible for the blasts.
Gross proceeds from the mineral extraction tax rose to 1.09 trillion roubles in September from 874.8 billion roubles in August thanks to an increase in the prices of the commodities.
Payments to refineries under the so-called "damper mechanism" - introduced to stop companies capitalising on high fuel export prices and defend the domestic market - rose to 298.7 billion roubles last month from 185.9 billion roubles in August.
These payments will be stopped from next month, as the government seeks to tackle the budget deficit.
The prospective abolition of the damper payments contributed to fuel shortages that forced the government to introduce a ban on fuel exports on Sept. 21.
The scrapping of the payments is likely to significantly increase oil and gas revenues for the next month.
Budget subsidies to refining companies from an "oil reverse excise tax" also rose, to 138.9 billion roubles last month, from 113.8 billion roubles in August.
The finance ministry budgeted for a fall in oil and gas revenues by 23% this year to 8.94 trillion roubles. It expects a budget deficit of almost 3 trillion roubles, or 2% of gross domestic product (GDP).
($1 = 99.4925 roubles)