Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said the state plans further changes to the tax code to stimulate the oil industry.

The tax breaks already approved by the government will ease the burden on oil companies by a total of 130 billion rubles ($5.5 billion) a year, Shmatko told reporters in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat on Saturday.
Shmatko, who was accompanying President Dmitry Medvedev to the Central Asian country, also said Russia is working out a stimulus package to help the country's 500 small and medium-sized oil companies enter the refining business.
Since almost all refining in Russia is in the hands of large companies, the government is considering setting quotas or even taking the “radical” step of building a refinery for smaller operators, he said.
The government may take measures to reduce the increase in domestic fuel prices, including lifting import duties on high- octane gasoline, Shmatko said.
(Source: Bloomberg)