The Russian government proposed narrowing the Urals oil discount to Brent to $20 per barrel from $25 from Sept. 1 in order to calculate taxes, the TASS news agency reported on Friday, citing Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov.

Russia earlier this year changed the oil price assumptions it uses to calculate its multi-billion rouble tax levy on oil exports, as it scrambled to cover a widening budget deficit caused by Western sanctions on energy exports.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, Editing by Gareth Jones)