China plans to take its resource tax nationwide by the end of this year after successfully pass-ing a test-run in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the official Economic Information newspaper reported Tuesday.

"There will be no technical difficulties for nationwide collecting of resource taxes," said the newspaper, which is affiliated with the State-controlled Xinhua News Agency. "But coal extractions will not be included."

The resource tax in Xinjiang was imposed June 1 at a rate of 5 percent and was based on prices instead of output volume, which will add around 5 billion yuan ($732 million) in tax revenue to the region.

"Collecting resource taxes throughout the country can financially aid local governments at all levels," said Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University. "But the main goal is to improve extrac-tion efficiency and resource recovery."

Xinjiang is China's fourth-largest crude oil producer and the nation's largest gas-producing region with proven oil reserves of 2.62 billion tons and natural gas reserves of 647.23 billion cubic meters.

"The adjustment of the resources tax will undoubtedly lead to higher costs for energy producers like PetroChina and Sinopec," Lin said.

"But the energy companies will transfer the cost to the lower reaches of the industry, such as oil refineries and petrochemical makers."

Currently, Chinese energy companies face rising costs for raw materials and wages, lack of influence in pricing and frequent change of policies.