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Russia's oil export duty on fuel oil may increase by up to $39.80 per tonne, or 32.6 percent, next month, according to calculations based on Finance Ministry data.

The duty on fuel oil could rise to between $161 and $161.70 per tonne, up from the current $121.90 per tonne, which became effective on January 1st 2011. The tax charge in December had been US$116.9 per tonne.

The export tax on light oil products may be increased to between $231 and $232 per tonne from $226.20 a tonne. In December the figure was $217 per tonne.

Under Russian port regulations, vessels taking on bunker fuel without carrying out cargo operations are forced to pay either the fuel oil export duty for purchases of intermediate fuel oil such as 380-centistoke (cst) and 180-cst, or the duty on light refined fuels for refuelling with distillate grades such as marine diesel oil (MDO) and marine gas oil (MGO).

Meanwhile, Russia's export duty on crude oil shipments may rise in February by as much as $28.80 per tonne, or 9.1 percent, to $346.30 per tonne from $317.50 per tonne.

Russia's crude export tax is based on the average price for Urals, the country's benchmark export blend, from the 15th day of one month to the 14th day of the next.

Alexander Sakovich, a finance ministry official, informed Reuters on Wednesday that the average price between December 15th to January 12th was $91.27 per barrel, up from $85.34 per barrel during the previous period.