Russia’s oil industry begins a critical battle over taxes this week. Losing may result in the first decline in crude production at the world’s largest energy exporter since 2008. Oil producers are due to meet with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev Monday to present their joint view on Finance Ministry proposals to increase crude oil extraction taxes, said two company representatives who asked not be be identified because the meeting isn’t public. The ministry wants to boost revenue by about 600 billion rubles ($9.1 billion) in 2016 alone to mitigate the biggest budget deficit in years. The price of crude plunged by about 50 percent over the past year because of a global oversupply. While Russia’s government finances have deteriorated, its oil companies have proved more resilient to the slump as some tax rates automatically adjusted lower […]