Azerbaijan's Tax Ministry says the Russian oil major must pay $US250m as the profit tax on its sale of a 10% stake despite what appeared to be a resolution to the on-going row last month and the Azeri government's approval of the sale to Japan's Inpex.
Lukoil, which originally announced the sale to Inpex in December 2002, thought it had closed the book on this saga last month when it agreed to increase its 60% stake in Azerbaijan's Yalama field to 80% for $US40 million, as well as pay SOCAR, the Azeri state oil company, $US156m.
However, the Azeri government says the $US156m is 'not a fiscal payment. That money is a bonus or can be classified as other reimbursement in the context of Lukoil's interaction with SOCAR, and has nothing to do with Azerbaijan's state budget'.
