Venezuela to 'modify' windfall tax on oil firms

Windfall profits: Venezuela will adjust per-barrel tax structure, energy minister Rafael Ramirez says

REUTERS/SCANPIX

related stories

News Wires

 28 January 2013 19:35 GMT

Venezuela is changing its oil windfall tax bands under which the government raises income for social spending and other purposes, Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Monday according to a report.

Widening a previous sliding scale, state company PDVSA and foreign partners will have to pay the state 20% of income from sales of oil between $55-80 per barrel, 80% between $80-100, 90% between $100-110, and 95% over $110, Reuters reported.

President Hugo Chavez, currently battling to recover from cancer surgery, first introduced a windfall tax in 2008 of up to 60% on revenues from oil prices over $100 per barrel, based on the ideas of Nobel Prize-winner Joseph Stiglitz.

In 2011, the taxes were racheted up to a maximum of 95% for oil…

Become an Upstream member!

Membership includes a subscription to our weekly newspaper providing in-depth news from the energy industry, plus full-access to this site and its archives. Still not convinced? Try our free trial.

Already a member?

Login

Upstream share price index