Russia's “Lukoil” company will try to sell its 19.99 percent stake in the “Shah Deniz” project by December 13 due to US sanctions.
Modern.az reports that "haqqin.az" has published information on this matter.
It is stated that after the sanctions come into force, all international banking operations of the company will be closed, and this situation will prevent “Lukoil” from fulfilling its obligations under the project.
According to the information, after December 13, the company will not be able to fulfill its financial obligations, known as “cash call”. This payment portion is funds allocated for the continuous operation of the project and is carried out only in US dollars. Failure to secure these obligations puts “Lukoil” at risk of default starting from February 13, 2026.
The “Shah Deniz” project holds strategic importance for the company. In 2022, “Lukoil” increased its participation stake to 19.99 percent by acquiring an additional 9.9 percent stake from "Petronas" for 1.45 billion dollars. Currently, annual production in the field reaches up to 28 billion cubic meters, and the company is expected to obtain several billion dollars from the sale of its stake.
To date, 270 billion cubic meters of gas have been extracted from “Shah Deniz”, which has total reserves of approximately 1.2 trillion cubic meters.
According to the source, US companies are indicated as the most serious contenders for “Lukoil”'s stake. They are not currently participating in the project and are seeking new entry opportunities.
The US Department of the Treasury has granted temporary permission for “Lukoil”'s foreign operations from November 21 to December 13. In Bulgaria, the company has been granted an exception for financial operations until April 2026.
