Comparison of Oil Exploitation Tax Regimes in Leading Oil-Producing Contries’ Continental Shelves

This research presents a comparative analysis of tax regimes on the continental shelf of the leading oil-producing countries (Australia, Great Britain, Norway, Russian Federation, USA). Development of the continental shelf is a capital-intensive, technologically complex, but strategically important aspect of development for both government and private sector. This research is crucial in the view of development of tax and oil-producing industries of the Russian Federation as it is carried out in order to get a clear illustration and study the changes in economic profitability of oil fields on the Russian continental shelf using various existing tax regimes of leading oil-producing countries as well as introducing possible modifications of the current tax system in the country. This graduation qualification thesis is fully consistent with the goals set by the author: to conduct a comparative analysis of the existing tax systems of the leading oil-producing countries operating on the continental shelf; calculate the economic profitability of some of the oil fields on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation; identify the tax features of regimes that allow to increase the investment attractiveness of the deposits of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation. As a result of the analysis, conducted by the author using econometric modelling, the hypotheses, stated at the beginning or the research, are confirmed: economic profitability of the oil fields on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation in the current tax system is not sufficient for oil production; application of accumulated existing experience of world practice to modernise the use of tax regimes in the development of deposits of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation can increase the economic efficiency of these projects.