Azerbaijan’s state-run energy company SOCAR will begin supplying gas to Austria and Germany, bringing the total number of countries buying Azerbaijani gas to 16, company representatives told the pro-government media outlet APA.
The gas will be transited to the countries via an existing route to Italy, which has historically been the largest purchaser of Azerbaijani gas in the EU.
According to APA, supplies will run through the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which became operational in 2020 and stretches from Turkey to the southern tip of Italy.
The quantity of gas being supplied to Austria and Germany, as well as the specific purchasers, was not specified by APA.
As part of its effort to shift away from dependency on Russian energy, the EU has increasingly turned toward Azerbaijan.However, there are concerns that Azerbaijan still works to launder Russian fossil fuels to be sold in the European market.
Previously, in May 2025, the UK sanctioned a state-owned Azerbaijani tanker as part of efforts to block Russia’s petrol trading shadow fleet.
An investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) found that the ship in question, the Zangazur, was owned by the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company and that the Azerbaijani government owned the entirety of the company’s shares.
In September 2025, EU foreign affairs spokesperson Anitta Hipper confirmed to OC Media that EU sanctions on Russia had been extended to the STAR Refinery in Turkey, co-owned by SOCAR and the Azerbaijani government, for its role in processing Russian crude oil.
Later that year, Reuters reported, citing sources, that the STAR Refinery had begun phasing out the purchase of Russian oil.
Nate Ostiller
