MOSCOW, September 14. /TASS/. The Russian Government ordered to conclude an amicable agreement with ExxonMobil on the dispute over Sakhalin-1. The government order from September 12 was published on the official website of legal information.
"To agree with the proposal of the Finance Ministry to conclude an amicable agreement in the lawsuit filed by Exxon Neftegas Limited on recovering funds under the production sharing agreement for the Sakhalin-1 project," the document said. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov was instructed to sign the agreement on behalf of the Russian Federation.
It was reported earlier that the US company requires the Russian authorities to reimburse the overpaid profit tax on the Sakhalin-1 project, where the company acts as the operator and works in partnership with Rosneft. In arbitration, ExxonMobil demanded to repay a part of the overpaid income tax of $500 mln over the last six years, appealing to changes in the income tax rate, which in Russia fell in 2009 from 35% to 20%. However, the production sharing agreement, on the basis of which the Sakhalin-1 project is being drafted, does not include changes in taxes during the entire term of the agreement.
Kommersant newspaper reported earlier that ExxonMobil might receive a minority stake in a major project with Rosneft in the event of a refusal of claims on the tax dispute with the Russian authorities. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich later told reporters that the US company's participation in joint projects with Rosneft could contribute to the resolution of the tax dispute over the project.