Azerbaijan's state oil company Socar said Tuesday it hasn't been notified about a deal that would see Gaz de France Suez SA (GSZ.FR) acquire a stake of a block in the Azeri sector of the Caspian Sea from Russia's OAO Lukoil (LKOH.RS).
Last week, GdF Suez said it had agreed with the Russian company to buy a 15% stake in the D-222 license, which is 80% owned by Lukoil and 20% by Socar.
Socar's head of investment Vagif Aliyev said that under the production sharing agreement signed in 1997, Lukoil is obliged to offer Socar a stake, before it can obtain the right to sell to a third party.