UPDATE 2-Tatneft Q1 net rises 25 pct on lower costs, taxes

* Q1 net profit rises to 7.93 bln roubles

* EBITDA rises 35 pct to 15.1 bln roubles

* Revenues fall 32.6 pct

(Adds details, background)

MOSCOW, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Russian oil company Tatneft TATN3.MM said its net profit rose 25 percent year-on-year in the first quarter on the back of sharply lower costs and taxes but still learned less per barrel than its peers.

The mid-sized oil firm said on Friday first quarter net profit rose to 7.93 billion roubles ($254.6 million) according to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), from 6.34 billion roubles in the same period last year.

Russia's oil industry is bouncing back from a disastrous fourth quarter, when oil prices plunged but the government continued to set tax levels based on the previous quarter's highs, forcing state-run giants such as LUKOIL (LKOH.MM) and Rosneft (ROSN.MM) into losses.

Tatneft was no exception at the end of last year, posting a fourth quarter loss of $132 million. But the tax regime finally caught up at the start of 2009, and the company said on Monday that both its production taxes and export duties in the first quarter were half of what they had been a year ago.

Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also rose 35 percent year-on-year to 15.1 billion roubles. But on a per-barrel basis, earnings were still shy of its larger Russian peers.

EBITDA per barrel stood at around $9.5, compared with about $14 for LUKOIL and $12 for Rosneft.

UKRAINE DISPUTE

Revenues in the quarter fell 32.6 percent to 73.54 billion roubles, Tatneft said in a statement, but the dropping sales were offset by a 39 percent decline in costs, which totalled 60.2 billion roubles in the first quarter.

The company said that stabilising crude oil prices, the devaluation of the rouble against the dollar and a lighter tax burden on the industry in the first quarter of 2009 also had a positive effect on the results, helping counteract the impact of a sharply lower oil price.

Tatneft also noted that the first quarter of last year included a provision related to crude oil sales to Ukraine, which decreased its net income for that period.

The write-off refers to a dispute over the Kremenchug refinery, Ukraine's largest, which saw Tatneft suspend supplies after the plant's former manager used armed police to oust managers friendly to Tatneft, citing a court order to reinstate him.

Tatneft is controlled by the regional government of Tatarstan, where it holds most of the exploration and production licenses and produces the vast majority of its crude oil. ($1=31.15 Rouble) (Reporting by Simon Shuster; Editing by Hans Peters and David Cowell)