SOCAR's activities are exploration, preparation, exploitation of onshore and offshore oil and gas fields, transportation, processing, refining and sale of oil, gas, condensate and other related products. SOCAR's exploration activities cover the prospective offshore fields in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The current largest fields being explored are Shafag-Asiman, which is explored with BP, and Absheron natural gas fields which are being explored together with BP and TotalEnergies respectively.
In 2010, SOCAR and BP signed a new production sharing agreement regarding Shafag-Asiman. In 2014, SOCAR and BP signed a joint exploration and development over the Shallow Water Absheron Peninsula. SOCAR has explored the Umid and Bulla Deniz gas fields. In 2017, SOCAR and a consortium led by BP signed a letter of intent for future development of the Azer-Chirag-Gunashli field. They signed a $6 billion contract regarding the Azeri Central East (ACE) platform on the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field.
In 2016, SOCAR produced 6.27 billion barrels (997,000,000 m3) of gas. Azerbaijan has 57 oil fields, 18 of which are offshore, in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The essential part of the company's revenue comes from the giant ACG oil field complex and Shah Deniz gas field. In September 1994, SOCAR entered into a Production sharing agreement (PSA) with the foreign oil companies led by BP for the 30-year development of the ACG oil field, which was later known as the Contract of the Century. Two years later Shah Deniz PSA was signed. As of 2014, SOCAR holds 11.6% of the ACG shares and 16.7% of the Shah Deniz shares. Moreover, SOCAR operates a number of onshore fields on its own which is the main source of the domestic supply.
In 2013, 43.48 million tons (318.74 million barrels) of oil was produced in Azerbaijan, of which 8.31 million tons (60.95 million barrels) belong to SOCAR. In the same period, Azerbaijan's natural gas production reached record high of 29.46 billion cubic metre of which SOCAR shares constitute 7.14 billion cubic metre of it.
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On 22 December 2023, after 30 years operating in the country’s oilfields, Norway based Equinor announced it was selling its assets in Azerbaijan to SOCAR. The sale includes an 8.7% interest in the Baku Tbilisi Ceychan pipeline, used to pump oil to Turkey’s Western coast, a 7.27% interest in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli oilfield, and a 50% stake in the Karabakh oilfield.
Pipeline operations
SOCAR has a share in two parallel-running major export pipelines of the country; Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) and South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP).
The pipelines deliver the ACG and Shah Deniz hydrocarbons from Sangachal Terminal located in 45 km south of Baku to Turkey and Europe. They pass through the borders of three countries: Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The share of SOCAR in the BTC and SCP is 25% and 16.7% respectively. In addition, SOCAR is the major shareholder with 58% ownership in the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) and with 20% ownership in Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) which are meant to transmit some 16 bcma of gas produced from the second phase of Shah Deniz gas field with 10 bcma of that going to Europe and 6 bcma to Turkey. The TAP is seen as a competitor to Russia's South Stream because of diversification of gas supplies to Europe. In February 2021, SOCAR's vice president for investment and marketing, Elshad Nasirov, stated that 20% of TANAP would be able to transport hydrogen to Europe without additional investments.
The company has stakes in the relatively low-capacity Baku-Supsa Pipeline and Baku-Novorossiysk Pipeline. The Azerbaijani part of the Baku-Novorossiysk Pipeline is operated by SOCAR, whereas Baku-Supsa Pipeline's operator is BP. Moreover, SOCAR operates Dubendi Oil Terminal in Azerbaijan and Kulevi Oil Terminal in Georgia, which are important for transportation and export.
An additional supply contract was signed in May 2021, with Russia's Rosneft, to start supplying Ukraine and other countries with oil products and LPG. This came about after Swiss trader Proton Energy suspended shipments of Russian diesel to the country that April. This is the first time since 2016 that another company will be supplying Rosneft products to Ukraine. According to BM Georgia, the supply agreement will provide SOCAR with an additional 100,000 tons of diesel fuel and 12,000 tons of LPG.
Refining operations
SOCAR has two oil refineries and one gas processing plant. Azerneftyagh Oil Refinery specializes in the production of fuels and oils, producing gasoline, kerosene and diesel distillates, various oils (industrial, motor, transformer etc.) and asphalt. All fuel distillates produced there are sent to Heydar Aliyev Baku Oil Refinery for redistillation. The refinery processes 21 out of 24 grades of the Azerbaijani crude. It meets the country's entire demand for petroleum products, and 45% of its petroleum products are exported. The Gas Processing Plant produces processed gas, liquified gas and natural gasoline. In 2010, the plant produced 4 bcm of processed gas, 24,800 tons of liquefied gas and 26,700 tons of natural gasoline.
Two subsidiaries of Maire Tecnimont S.p.A signed two EPCs with Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery (HAOR) for its modernization and reconstruction in 2021. The one EPC is for the installation of a Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) gasoline hydrotreating unit, and the other for the installation of an LPG mercaptan oxidation unit and an amine treatment and LPG pre-treatment unit. SOCAR and Axens signed licensing and design agreements for the FCC unit included in the HAOR modernisation project. With this, engineers will be provided with schooling related to the units, as well as specifically aiming to develop energy efficiency skills and sustainability.
Retail station operations
The first fuel station of the company under the brand name SOCAR was opened in neighboring Georgia in 2008, before any in its home country. The fuel stations in Georgia are operated by the subsidiary of the company SOCAR Georgia Petroleum. As of 2014, there were currently more than 110 filling stations in Georgia, making it the largest retail fuel station network of SOCAR. In Azerbaijan, the company operates a few (less than any other country where it operates) filling stations under the brand name SOCAR since 2010. It is the third-largest network of retail stations in Azerbaijan after Azpetrol and Lukoil. In 2011, the first retail station of SOCAR was opened in Ukraine. In October 2014, the number of the SOCAR stations in Ukraine reached 40.
In 2011, the company entered into the Romanian market, acquiring initially 90% and at a later stage, the rest 10% of the stake in Romtranspetrol. In September 2014, SOCAR launched its 30th filling station in Romania. In November 2011, SOCAR bought ExxonMobil's Swiss subsidiary Esso Schweiz for an undisclosed amount. Along with the acquisition, SOCAR became the owner of a network of more than 160 filling stations operating under the brand name Esso across the country. The first SOCAR premium fueling station in Switzerland after the rebranding was opened in September 2012 in Zürich. All the operations in Switzerland are managed and led by SOCAR Energy Switzerland.
In 2021, plans were announced that Alpiq, EW Hofe and SOCAR Energy Switzerland will be building an electrolysis plant in the Freienbach district, which is to produce 1,000 to 1,200 tons of emission-free mobility green hydrogen a year. The green hydrogen that is produced there will be transported in the pipelines of the former substation to the Fuchsberg motorway service station, where SOCAR will set up filling stations.
Other operations
In December 2007, SOCAR Trading was incorporated and became the marketing division of SOCAR. Headquartered in Geneva, SOCAR Trading offers ultra-low-sulfur-diesel, liquefied petroleum gas and markets SOCAR crude oil export volumes from Ceyhan, trades third-party crude and oil products and assists SOCAR with international investments in logistics, downstream and sales. Alongside its field of activity in marketing and sales, SOCAR Trading assists SOCAR in expanding SOCAR's assets as well.
Azerigaz Production Union (PU) has been carrying out transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Union has also been ensuring transportation of natural gas produced by SOCAR to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Georgia and the Russian Federation.
The main directions of SOCAR Georgia Gas activity comprise import into the Georgian market and sale of natural gas, as well as construction and rehabilitation of gas pipelines. In 2010, the company was honoured with 'Best Company of the year' for active participation in the 'Gas provision of all villages' program of the Georgian President.
Baku Shipyard LLC joint venture was founded on 10 May 2011 under the laws of Republic of Azerbaijan, by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) owning 65%, Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC) 25%, and Keppel Offshore Marine (KOM) 10%, has developed and put into operation the most modern shipbuilding and ship-repair facility in the Caspian Sea.
The opening ceremony of Star Oil Refinery was held on 19 October in İzmir, Turkey with the participation of Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Since the beginning of the project, US$1 392.8 million has been allocated to finance the Azerbaijani share of the STAR project within the framework of the SOFAZ's budget execution.
On 15 July 2021, SOCAR signed a cooperation agreement with Technip Energies involving a joint pilot project to produce offshore energy on a floating wind turbine. Back in April of the same year, Azerbaijan had signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in order to cooperate on offshore wind development. The cooperation between the two companies is to determine the potential of the countries offshore wind possibilities.
On May 16, 2025, SOCAR Energy Switzerland, a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), commissioned Switzerland's first fast-charging station for electric trucks. The station, which is also SOCAR’s first of its kind, was officially opened at the Kölliken Nord refueling complex along Switzerland’s A1 motorway. The station is part of efforts to develop infrastructure for electric commercial vehicles in the country.
In June 2025, it was announced that SOCAR acquired a 10% stake in the Israeli Tamar gas field, which is worth an estimated $1.25 billion. On August 2, 2025 SOCAR signed an agreement with Turkey to deliver gas to Syria through the Kilis Aleppo pipeline.
In September 2025, an agreement between Gruppo API and SOCAR was made for SOCAR to acquire 99.82% of Gruppo API from the owning family. The acquisition, which is estimated to be valued at 3 billion euros, is twas completed in the second quarter of 2026.
In November 2025, SOCAR entered a memorandum of understanding (MuO) with Dragon Oil of the United Arab Emirates to explore opportunities for joint projects in the oil and gas sectors in the Caspian Sea basin.
Locations
SOCAR's headquarters are located in a 42-floor SOCAR Tower which was under construction since 2010 and completed in late 2016. It is the tallest skyscraper in the Caucasus with 209m of height. Apart from the head office, SOCAR's supporting offices are dispersed across the city.
The first representative office of SOCAR was established in London in 1994. Now the company has offices in London, Frankfurt, Geneva, Vienna, Bucharest, Istanbul, Kyiv, Tbilisi, Astana and Tehran.
