Higher taxes imposed on Russia’s energy sector could make prolonged output curbs by OPEC and allied producers easier to stomach for Moscow’s energy majors. FILE PHOTO: Full moon rises over the Gazprom Neft’s oil refinery in Omsk, Russia February 10, 2020. REUTERS/Alexey Malgavko/File Photo The new system of taxes, approved by President Vladimir Putin earlier this month to help Russia weather the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, make it more expensive for energy companies to boost production from mature oil fields and produce more heavy crude. That could make Russia’s energy sector more willing to accept tighter policies from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, rather than engaging in a tussle with other oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia over oil market share, analysts say. OPEC+, of which Russia is a member, has been reducing oil output […]