Nov 20. A cut in oil export duty effective December 1, 2008 to USD 192.10 per ton has made oil exports profitable, Lukoil VP Leonid Fedun said. He stressed that “profit from oil export will be low but still above the breakeven mark”. “To date, each ton of crude which we export has incurred up to USD40 in losses, since current taxes were calculated based on the oil price in the range of USD 70-80 a barrel, while the current market price is around USD 50 a barrel. Companies cannot operate at a loss for an indefinite period of time” – he noted. According to Fedun, given the export duty of USD 192.10 a barrel, oil companies can switch to “regular operating mode”. “We will generate only a few dollars, but it will be a profit” – Lukoil’s VP said. He added that Russia’s crude output at the current levels is only possible at the price of USD 75 a barrel.