Taxation, not privatisation ahead for Russia
The collapse of the Bashneft sale means Russia's government will wring more cash from producers instead
The shelving by the Kremlin of the sale of Bashneft casts doubts about the credibility of Russia's privatisation programme and puts the spotlight back on additional taxation of the energy sector. Ministry of Finance officials had been banking on the sale of a 50% stake in the oil producer, assuming it would rake in about R300bn ($4.8bn) to cover gaps in a budget caused by lower crude prices and sanctions imposed over the Ukraine conflict. The entire privatisation programme, which kicked off in July with the sale of a stake in diamond monopoly Alrosa for $0.814bn, was supposed to bring in R1 trillion ($15bn). But the sale of shipping agency Sovcomflot has also now been postponed until next ye
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
