Fortune Global 500

Lukoil is the last Russian oil company to be both privately owned and internationally significant, with production assets in Iraq and central Asia, and an increasing presence exploring in Mexico. Its traditional west Siberian production base is declining, but a generous tax regime has so far let it develop replacement fields in Russia’s far north. Life may be about to get harder: Total shareholder returns rose 31% last year, but at the cost of higher debt and lower investment in future growth, which now faces further obstacles as the Kremlin continues to work with OPEC to cap oil production and support prices.