Azerbaijani authorities on 24 April gave their go-ahead for LUKoil\'s sale of its 10 percent stake in a consortium led by British Petroleum (BP) to develop the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli offshore oil field. According to officials of the Azerbaijani State Oil Company SOCAR, LUKoil is selling its share to the Japanese firm Inpex for $1.375 billion. LUKoil first sought to sell the stake to Inpex late last year, but the Azerbaijani government demanded the Russian company first pay state taxes of up to $100 million. The sale was approved by Azerbaijan after LUKoil executives agreed to modify the terms of another of its oil projects in Azerbaijan instead of paying taxes. That modification included a $40 million Russian payment to increase from 60 to 80 percent LUKoil\'s share in the Yalama oil field, including a $20 million disbursement to be made this month. (Reuters)