Personally I would never let my oil go beyond 5000 miles with synthetic oil. Oil analysis shows time and time again oil begins to break down at the 5000 mile point. Check out this web site it has more than you will ever want to know about oil.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/index.php

 

Yes, the bogus annual oil change and I was just saying what I was told by the "service advisor". How long it has actually been is beyond me. Don't really care, I was just trying to take advantage of a service that they were pushing so hard when they sold us the car.

 

Twlai,
My opinion is pretty much the same as most everyone, Mini is stretching oil changes much too long. However, you are in a unique position to test Mini's theory. Please do everyone a favor and send a sample to Blackstone Labs and show us the results. They provide the container for free and charge $25 for the test plus shipping.
Everyone's driving habits and conditions are different but I think it would be interesting to see what analysis results would be.
I have a Blackstone container and I am going to get my oil tested at 5K miles. I expect to increase my change intervals accordingly based on the test results.
Please post if you get your oil analyzed!