On December 19, 2025, a train consisting of 22 railcars, carrying a total of 1,218 tons of AI-95 (premium) gasoline, arrived in Armenia from Azerbaijan via Georgia. The second shipment of gasoline was delivered on January 9, 2026. Azerbaijani media reported that 1,742 tons of AI-95 gasoline and 956 tons of diesel fuel were sent to Armenia from the Bilajari station in Baku.
This event sparked a wave of criticism in Armenia.
On January 9, journalist Nairi Hokhikyan posted on his Facebook page (archived) that even during the Soviet era, Azerbaijan produced gasoline containing tetraethyl lead. This gasoline is very cheap, yet extremely dangerous for people and vehicles.
Hokhikyan questioned, “Is there a reason to believe that Azerbaijan has stopped the production of tetraethyl lead-containing gasoline and is not sending it to our country?”
Other Facebook users and pages shared similar concerns.
However, these claims are not fact-based and can mislead people.
According to the reputable international organization “The LEAD Group,” Azerbaijan ceased the production of leaded gasoline in 1997.
In August 2021, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced that the last country in the world (Algeria) that still used leaded gasoline had exhausted its reserves.
Therefore, there is no evidence that Azerbaijan continues to produce leaded gasoline.
The Ministry of Economy also confirmed to Verified that the gasoline imported from Azerbaijan was tested and found to have no issues.
Gasoline quality was tested by the National Body for Standards and Metrology, the only accredited institution in Armenia with such authority, according to the Ministry of Economy.
“The expertise was conducted in accordance with the EAEU technical regulations. It was found that the petroleum products fully comply with the established standards. The data has been submitted to the customs authorities to permit the import. If there had been any violations of the regulations, the petroleum products would not have been allowed to enter the country,” said Lilit Shaboyan, spokesperson for the ministry.
Energy security expert Vahe Davtyan made another claim (archives) regarding the imported gasoline. In December 2025, he stated that Azerbaijan lacks the capacity to fully develop AI-95 gasoline. He supports this claim by pointing out that Azerbaijan did not allocate any funds for the production of AI-95 gasoline in its 2026 state budget.
In November 2025, several Azerbaijani media outlets reported that Azerbaijan would cease production of AI-95 gasoline in 2026 and would rely entirely on imports.
However, in December 2025, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) refuted this claim, affirming that the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery would continue to produce both AI-92 and AI-95 gasoline in 2026.
As of January 15, 2026, Azerbaijan plans to continue producing premium gasoline in that year, according to official information.
Azerbaijan’s gasoline market
On January 8, journalist Artyom Yerkanyan wrote (archived) on his Facebook page that the Azerbaijani oil refinery produces premium gasoline for Armenia, while Baku covers most of its domestic consumption through imports from other countries, including Georgia.
“According to official sources, Azerbaijan has been purchasing premium gasoline from Georgia for the past four years, as importing it is more cost-effective than producing it domestically. This raises the question: why don’t we buy gasoline from Georgia instead of Azerbaijan? Especially considering that the Kulevi oil refinery is set to begin mass production of premium gasoline starting in February of this year,” the journalist wrote.
Artyom Yerkanyan’s post contains misleading information. In particular, there is no evidence that Azerbaijan produces premium gasoline exclusively for Armenia or that it has been purchasing premium gasoline from Georgia for the past 4 years.
The “Energy ofAzerbaijan 2025” yearbook, published by the State Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan, provides data on gasoline production and consumption for the years 2020 to 2024. According to the report, Baku started producing premium gasoline in 2024. However, the production volumes of AI-92 (regular), AI-95 (premium), and AI-98 (super) gasoline are combined and presented as a single figure.
We could not find specific data on AI-95 on the websites of the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan or the Statistical Committee of Georgia. Our study relies on general indicators from the Azerbaijani gasoline market.
Published data show that Tbilisi accounts for a small share of Azerbaijan’s total gasoline imports. According to the UN Comtrade Database (data available here), during 2020-2024, Georgia supplied gasoline (database search code: 271012) to Azerbaijan twice, in 2021 and 2023, totaling 2,883 tons.
In contrast, in 2020-2024, Azerbaijan exported about 77 tons of gasoline to Georgia.
As for 2025, the Statistical Committee of Georgia reported that from January to November, Azerbaijan imported gasoline from Georgia valued at $9,541, while exporting gasoline worth $573,328.
According to the Comtrade Database, Armenia purchased a total of 1,323 tons of gasoline from Georgia between 2020 and 2024.
Screenshot: Comtrade Database
It is noteworthy that Georgia imports a significant amount of its gasoline, so the volumes exported to Azerbaijan are likely re-exports.
How much gasoline does Azerbaijan produce and consume?
Statistics from Azerbaijan’s energy sector over the past five years (2020-2024) indicate that the country has been unable to meet its gasoline demand.
In 2020, production nearly matched consumption, resulting in a deficit of only 3,700 tons, with production fulfilling 99.6% of demand.
Since 2020, gasoline consumption in Azerbaijan has risen significantly. In 2020, approximately 1.170 million tons were consumed, and by 2024, this figure reached 1.626 million tons. Over the five years, domestic demand has increased by about 39%.
Meanwhile, gasoline production has not grown at the same pace. In 2023, production peaked, but even then, the deficit was 100,300 tons.
The situation worsened in 2024, with production falling to 1.251 million tons. The production-consumption deficit in 2024 was about 375,000 tons.
How much gasoline does Azerbaijan export, and how much does it import?
From 2020 to 2024, Azerbaijan imported more gasoline than it exported. According to the Comtrade Database, imports in 2024 reached nearly 380,000 tons, double the amount imported in 2023. This figure closely matches the deficit between production and consumption, indicating that foreign purchases covered the entire shortfall. In 2024, gasoline produced in Azerbaijan met 76.9% of domestic demand.
In 2020, Azerbaijan exported approximately 64,000 tons of gasoline, but by 2024, that number had plummeted to just 5,671 tons. As a result, the Azerbaijani authorities were compelled to nearly completely halt exports.
Main import and export directions
From 2020 to 2024, Russia was the primary supplier of gasoline to Baku, exporting a total of 727,218 tons to Azerbaijan.
In 2024, the majority of gasoline imported into Azerbaijan came from Russia and Belarus, with Moscow significantly surpassing Belarus, selling 191,442 tons to Baku.
The only exception was 2021, when Romania ranked first in gasoline supplies to Azerbaijan, delivering 66,945 tons.
In 2023 and 2024, Turkey became the leading destination for Azerbaijani gasoline exports. In 2023, nearly 67% of exports were directed to Turkey, and this share increased further in 2024 to approximately 74% of total exports.
Georgia is the only country that Azerbaijan has consistently supplied with gasoline in recent years, though the volumes are relatively small.
The situation in 2025
According to data (archive) from the Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan, reported by Trend.az, Azerbaijan imported 105,300 tons of AI-25 gasoline from six countries between January and September 2025. The total cost of these imports was $89.7 million. During the same period, Azerbaijan also exported 4,200 tons of AI-25 gasoline valued at $2.8 million. Notably, Georgia was one of the destinations (archive) for these exports, with Azerbaijan selling 4,196 tons of premium gasoline to Georgia from January to August.
In December 2025, Report.az, citing the Statistical Committee, wrote that Azerbaijan had resumed importing premium gasoline from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) starting in October. It was reported that from January to October, a total of 19,684 tons of gasoline, valued at $17.1 million, were imported from the UAE.
Azerbaijan continues to import large volumes of premium gasoline while exporting only small amounts, a trend that has persisted into 2025.
In March 2025, Azerbaijani media reported that gasoline production issues in Azerbaijan began after a fire at the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery, leading to a 12.3% decline in overall production in the first quarter.
Thus, it turns out that in recent years, gasoline consumption in Azerbaijan has sharply increased, while production has failed to meet demand. As a result, Baku imports a significant amount of gasoline.
However, Azerbaijan also exports both gasoline and premium gasoline, with Georgia among its primary destinations. Verified has reached out to the relevant authorities to review import and export statistics for premium gasoline in Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. We will publish the findings as soon as we receive a response.
This article was prepared with the financial support of the European Union. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
