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LUKoil sells 15% stake to Gaz de France in offshore project of Azerbaijan

04 September 2008 16:43 (UTC +04:00)

Russian oil company LUKOIL has sold Franceâ€™s GDF Suez a 15 percent stake in an offshore exploration project in Azerbaijanâ€™s sector of the Caspian Sea, LUKOILâ€™s international arm said on Wednesday.
The deal has been approved by the projectâ€™s other shareholder, Azeri national oil company SOCAR.
The project is known as D-222 and LUKOIL has drilled one well, in 2005, which found no commercial reserves of hydrocarbons.
LUKOIL had been considering pulling out of the project, but then decided to go ahead and drill a second well, which is scheduled for November this year.
The sides did not disclose the value of the deal, which leaves LUKOIL with 65 percent, SOCAR with 20 percent and GDF Suez with 15 percent.
LUKOIL and Franceâ€™s Total each own 10 percent in Azerbaijanâ€™s largest gas field, Shakh-Deniz, co-led by BP and StatoilHydro .
The companies have started exports from Shakh-Deniz to Turkey and want to turn the giant deposit into one of the main sources of gas for the planned Nabucco gas pipeline to southern Europe.