Azerbaijan plans to exempt oil and gas imports from VAT for 3 years

On November 23, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to improve governance in electricity and water supply management and address related issues. According to the decree, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan must take necessary steps within a month to transfer the functions of the State Energy Agency of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic  (NAR) to the state-owned companies Azerenergy (the state monopoly for electricity production and transportation) and “Azerishig” (the state monopoly for electricity distribution).

Azerbaijan currently exports oil to approximately 30 countries, and by December, the number of countries importing Azerbaijani gas is expected to reach 12, Azerbaijan's Energy Minister announced on November 22 in Istanbul during the energy forum at the session titled "Challenges and Opportunities for a Sustainable Future." However, the minister did not reveal the names of the new gas importers. At present, 10 countries officially import Azerbaijani gas: Georgia, Türkiye, Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia.

Azerbaijan's oil production is expected to reach 640,000 barrels per day in 2025, according to forecasts from the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA has kept its oil production forecast for Azerbaijan unchanged from its previous assessment made last month. The agency predicts that Azerbaijan’s oil production will start at 610,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of 2025, increase to 630,000 barrels per day in the second quarter, and reach 650,000 barrels per day in the third quarter.

As part of the Istanbul Energy Forum, meetings were held in both bilateral and trilateral formats, with the participation of Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov and Türkiye's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.