OREANDA-NEWS. October 27, 2011. “We are very pleased with TNK-BP’s excellent performance in the nine months of 2011. Our continuous efforts to raise efficiency have led to record production in our upstream business and strong operational results in Refining & Marketing," said Mikhail Fridman, Executive Chairman of TNK-BP. "We remain committed to expanding our business beyond TNK-BP's traditional markets and have made considerable progress in this regard during the past three quarters, closing the deal to acquire BP’s assets in Venezuela and receiving the investment license for operating offshore gas Block 06.1 in Vietnam. These operational successes and transformational deals in Asia and Latin America will underpin TNK-BP's growth story and allow us to continue making TNK-BP one of the most efficient global oil and gas companies”, reported the press-centre of TNK-BP.

9M11 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
In 9M11, oil and gas production continued to grow and reached 1,770 mboe/d excluding JVs, up 2.1% on 9M10, reaching a historic peak of 1,824 mboe/d on 03 September 2011. Production including Slavneft and Venezuela JVs was 1,969 mboe/d, up 2.2% on 9M10.

We continued implementation of our intervention program announced last quarter in West Siberia brownfields. Our efforts in piloting new technologies, including water shut-offs and more efficient water flooding resulted in a year-to-date decrease of water produced of 2.2 mln tons.

Production in Orenburg in 9M11 grew by 4% due to our success in discovering and bidding for new resources and bringing them efficiently into production. In addition in 9M11 we acquired 4 new licenses in federal auctions in Orenburg with resource additions of 158 mln boe.

Our producing greenfields, Uvat and Verkhnechonskoye, continued to deliver strong growth and their share in liquids production reached 13%.

Our gas sales, both natural and associated gas, continued to increase in line with our strategy to grow substantially the gas business to more than a 20% share in production and EBITDA by 2020. Production at Rospan was up 24% y-o-y and associated gas sales were up 8% y-o-y. We progressed preparations for full field development for Rospan and are working on options to further increase associated gas utilization. In particular, we are preparing the launch of a new 0.7 bcm compressor station at the Nizhnevartovsky gas processing plant in 4Q11 and also contemplating options to increase gas processing capacity in Orenburg.

In power, we reached an important milestone in progressing the construction of the 3rd unit of the NizhGres power plant by bringing the GE-made 400MW gas turbine to Russia.

In downstream, refining throughput was up 7% y-o-y at 763 mb/d as a result of continuing debottlenecking efforts at our refineries. Tolling operations at Linik refinery in Ukraine were up 82% y-o-y, contributing to positive net income of our Ukrainian business of USD 17 mln versus a net loss in 9M10.

We continued to further expand our premium BP branded retail network, with the number of BP branded sites in Russia reaching 97 at the end of 3Q11. Development of the TNK brand will be supported by the launch of the loyalty program “Carbon”.

On the international front, we have closed the acquisition of Block 06.1 in Vietnam and will focus on the integration of Vietnamese and Venezuelan assets into our portfolio and ensuring their operational and financial efficiency.

Commenting on the financial results, Jonathan Muir, Chief Financial Officer of TNK-BP Ltd., said:

In the first nine months of 2011, the company achieved record-breaking results underpinned by a strong pricing environment, operational excellence and efficiency improvements. Our net income amounted to USD 6.8 bn – the highest-ever achieved by the company – and 75% higher than in the same period last year. EBITDA rose by 52% to USD 11.0 bn supported by higher production and refining volumes, partially offset by a negative exchange rate impact as well as tariff and excise growth. We continued to grow our business, both through organic developments and inorganic acquisitions, with new production levels reached at the Uvat and Verkhnechonskoye greenfields and first contribution from our overseas assets. We maintained strong financial discipline, setting a new benchmark in terms of borrowing costs and keeping our gearing at a prudent 21%. Continuous improvement in all aspects of our operations leads us to believe that 2011 may become the most successful year in the history of TNK-BP.

9M11 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Revenues for 9M11 increased by 38% relative to 9M10 reflecting higher Urals price and production growth partly offset by the effect of higher domestic sales to avail of higher netbacks.

Export duties and taxes other than income tax increased by 41% for 9M11 relative to 9M10 as a result of the impact of higher Urals prices on export duty and mineral extraction tax rates as well as the increased excise rates partly offset by a significant duty lag benefit.

Cash costs (operating expenses, transportation and SG&A) increased by 19% reflecting higher tariffs and inflation and the effect of a stronger rouble as well as an increase in provisions.

EBITDA for 9M11 amounted to USD 11.0 bn which is 52% higher compared to 9M10 largely due to the higher prices and duty lag benefit supported on the operations side by higher production and refining volumes. These positive factors were partly offset by a negative exchange rate impact as well as tariff and excise rates growth.

9M11 Net income amounted to USD 6.8 bn which is 75% up on the same period of 2010. This increase outpaced the EBITDA growth primarily due to relatively flat DD&A.

Operating cash flow for 9M11 totaled USD 8.0 bn, up 15% compared to 9M10. This is a reflection of the higher EBITDA (adjusted for non-operating items), partly offset by an increase in working capital primarily driven by the effect on accounts receivable of higher prices and extension of some credit periods to take advantage of higher netbacks.

The higher profits and equity growth kept gearing at 21%, despite the increase in net debt by USD 0.4 bn.

Organic capital investment in 9M11 amounted to USD 3.5 bn, 27% above 9M10, largely associated with increased investments in our growth greenfields (VCNG, Uvat) and Orenburg, as well as Ryazan and Saratov refineries.

3Q11 RESULTS
Revenues for 3Q11 slightly decreased by 1% relative to 2Q primarily due to lower crude oil prices.

Export duties and other taxes increased 5% q-o-q primarily due to higher crude oil export sales and a comparative decrease in duty lag, partly offset by the impact of lower Urals price.

Cash costs (operating expenses, transportation and SG&A) in 3Q remained at the 2Q level, with tariffs and inflation pressures and the seasonal increase in wellwork, contracting and other activities offset by the benefit of a weaker rouble.

EBITDA for 3Q11 was 3% higher compared to 2Q. The positive impact of the rouble depreciation, higher production volumes and one-off effects were offset by a weaker trading environment and lower duty lag.

3Q11 Net Income increased by 8%, above the EBITDA trend, primarily due to foreign exchange gains during 3Q compared to a loss in 2Q.

Operating cash flow in 3Q decreased by 44% compared to 2Q attributed primarily to higher working capital. This is mainly due to a managed increase in receivables collection terms as well as a lower level of accounts payable primarily due to the rouble weakening at 3Q end.

Organic capital investments amounted to USD 1.3bn in 3Q, representing the same expenditure as in 2Q.

Compared to the 3Q 2010 results, 3Q 2011 EBITDA and net income increased by 40% and 57%, respectively. This reflects a stronger external environment with the Urals price increasing by 48% as well as production growth by 3.9%. These positive factors were partly offset by a decrease in trading volumes due to a stock build-up in 3Q 2011 compared to significant stock sales in 3Q 2010, comparatively low duty lag as well as the effect of a stronger rouble and inflationary pressure on costs.

The financial information shown in this press release relates to TNK-BP International Ltd.