Azerbaijan slashes Russian oil imports more than ninefold in 2026
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Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan (Photo: Website of the President of Azerbaijan)
Azerbaijan has sharply reduced oil imports from Russia since the start of 2026, with shipments falling more than ninefold, Interfax-Ukraine reported on Aug. 7.
Azerbaijan imported 69,420 metric tons of oil worth $37.5 million from January through May 2026. Compared with the same period in 2025, oil imports fell 9.3-fold by volume and 8.4-fold by value.
Most of the oil, or 93.1%, came from Russia, totaling 64,630 metric tons, 9.3 times less than in 2025. The value of Russian oil imports was $33.66 million, down 8.7-fold.
Azerbaijan did not import any Russian oil in May.
The remaining 4,790 metric tons came from Kazakhstan, down 8.7-fold, and were worth $3.84 million, down 5.9-fold. Those shipments were made exclusively in May.
In 2025, Azerbaijan imported 1.66 million metric tons of oil, down 11% from 2024, worth $772.9 million, a decline of 24.2%.
Russia accounted for 91.8% of those imports, supplying 1.52 million metric tons, down 8.7%, worth $698.75 million, down 22.9%. Azerbaijan also imported oil from Kazakhstan last year, totaling 135,960 metric tons worth $74.03 million, and from Iraq, totaling 439.7 metric tons worth $162,690.
As previously reported, Azerbaijan has been expanding its domestic oil production and its presence in global markets. In July, private Azerbaijani energy company GL Group acquired oil and gas assets at four producing fields in the United States and took operational control of them.
In May, it was reported that Japan had resumed oil imports from Azerbaijan.
Earlier, Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR completed the acquisition of two oil refineries and several thousand gas stations in Italy.
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