Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 12 / Trend , I.Khalilova /
Over the first nine months, the forecast of revenues to the Public budget of Azerbaijan from Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) was decreased by 7.4 times or 1.572 million manat and amounted to 211.8 million manat ($293.9 million), the Minister of Taxes Fazil Mammadov said at the Parliament on Nov. 12.
Over three quarters of 2008, oil contracting companies transferred $2.154 million to the Public budget compared to the projected 1783.8 million manat.
"The decline in amount of transfers from oil companies for income tax was caused by three factors: changes in the equity ratio between the state and foreign contracting companies in the oil produced from Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli, oil production volume and average price of oil," the minister said.
The volume of oil production in January-September of last year was 206 million barrels at an average price of oil at $102.3 per barrel. The income share of contracting companies in the total oil production amounted to $12.085 billion, and the state - an average of $6.564 billion.
During the nine months of 2009 were produced 189.7 million barrels of oil at an average price of $52.8. Accordingly, revenues of contracting companies totaled $3.906 billion, while the share of the state totaled $7941.7 million.
"In 2009, the price of oil dropped two times or$ 49.4, the shares of foreign contracting companies in the oil production decreased three times - from 75 percent to 25 percent, and oil production - by 8.7 percent, the Minister said.
Along with this, the rate of profitability of contracting companies decreased by six times - from 244.6 percent to 41 percent, leading to 7.3 times decrease in their profits.