Russia is not making the most of its oil assets due to the structure of its tax regime, said Lord Robertson, deputy chairman of the TNK-BP joint oil venture.

TNK-BP and Russia's state-controlled oil companies are being hit by rising costs and higher taxes, he warned.

As 80% of export revenues are taken in taxes when the oil barrel price is above $27, companies are not seeing the benefit of the high oil price, he said. Barrel prices are currently over $90.

'If Russia is going to be able itself, as a country, to extract more from the ground, then it will have to change that fiscal regime,' Lord Robertson said in the FT.

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