Azerbaijan nearly halts Russian oil imports
Since early 2026, Azerbaijan has cut oil imports from Russia more than ninefold, buying none at all in May, while expanding its own oil business abroad.
Azerbaijan has sharply reduced its reliance on Russian oil supplies since the start of this year. Between January and May, the country imported a total of 69,420 tonnes of oil worth $37.5 million, several times less than in the same period a year earlier — volume fell 9.3-fold and value 8.4-fold, according to Interfax-Ukraine.
The bulk of imports, 93.1% or 64,630 tonnes, still came from Russia, though this too was 9.3 times lower than last year, with its value of $33.66 million down 8.7-fold. The decline was especially sharp in May, when Azerbaijan bought no Russian oil at all.
The remaining volume — 4,790 tonnes worth $3.84 million — was supplied by Kazakhstan in May, also markedly lower than a year earlier in both volume and value.
Decline traces back to last year
The trend was already visible in 2025, when Azerbaijan's total oil imports reached 1.66 million tonnes worth $772.9 million — down 11% and 24.2% respectively compared with 2024. Russia again accounted for the largest share, 91.8%, though supplies fell both in volume and value. The rest last year came from Kazakhstan and a small amount from Iraq.
Expanding on the world market
At the same time, Azerbaijan is actively developing its own oil sector and strengthening its position on global markets. In July, the private company GL Group gained operational control of four oil and gas fields in the United States. In May, it was reported that Japan had resumed purchasing oil from Azerbaijan, while earlier the state oil company SOCAR completed the acquisition of two refineries and several thousand fuel stations in Italy.
