Kazakh crude export duties to decline

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- The government in Kazakhstan said Monday it will cut export duties on crude oil by more than 31 percent and adopt new monthly adjustments.

Kazakhstan adopted export duties in May. The duties are pegged to world oil prices, which have been in precipitous decline since July highs of around $147 per barrel.

The government also said it would abandon quarterly adjustments in favor of a monthly system for export duties, RIA Novosti said.

Astana reported through its official news service Monday the export duty for mid-January would be $139.79 per metric ton, or roughly seven barrels of oil.

Kazakhstan reached several development agreements recently, embracing a Trans-Caspian network to transit oil across the Caspian Sea for delivery through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

A more recent deal with Moscow, along with Turkmenistan, involved a coastal pipeline along the Caspian Sea to ferry natural resources north to Russian markets.