OREANDA-NEWS. June 20, 2008. Russian-British joint-venture TNK-BP has been one of the best performing oil companies in the Russian markets, the company’s chief operating officer said Tuesday.

“TNK-BP has one of the best returns to shareholders among Russian oil companies,” Tim Summers said.

Summers siad: “Increasing market capitalization is only one aspect of total shareholder return.”  He added that since the joint venture was created in 2003, the shareholders have enjoyed an annual return on their investments of 40% to 50% a year if both market capitalization and dividend payout to shareholders are included.

“I think our performance has been very good,” said Summers, who worked for BP for 17 years before joining TNK-BP in 2006.

Summers also said TNK-BP, Russia’s third-biggest oil producer, has since 2003 managed to grow production 26% and replace its reserves more than almost 140% per annum. Output this year will, however, remain flat compared with last year against a drop in Russia’s overall production in the first five months of the year, Summers said.