Baku–Ankara energy bridge: From hydrocarbons to green power generation Overview by Khazar Akhundov

As strategic trade and economic partners, Azerbaijan and Türkiye have worked closely in oil and gas transit for three decades, while in recent years they have been actively expanding cooperation in both conventional and green electricity generation. The prospects for further energy cooperation and the implementation of new joint initiatives were at the heart of talks between Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov and Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, held in Baku during the 5th Azerbaijan–Türkiye Energy Forum.

The drive to steadily strengthen energy and transport connectivity between the two countries has provided the foundation for bilateral business ties for more than three decades. The foundations of their energy partnership were laid around the turn of the 2000s with the construction of the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku–Tbilisi–Erzurum gas pipeline. Some 15 years later, the partnership was further expanded through the development of components of the Southern Gas Corridor.

These export pipelines gave Azerbaijan direct access to the Turkish market and, through Türkiye, to Mediterranean and European markets. They carry hydrocarbon resources produced in Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries to international markets. At the same time, bilateral cooperation includes the rail transportation of oil products, fuel and urea fertiliser along the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars route, as well as maritime transportation across the Black Sea. In addition, infrastructure — including power transmission lines and substations — is being developed systematically to increase exports of green electricity.

An important contribution to the energy connectivity between Azerbaijan and Türkiye was the commissioning of the Iğdır–Nakhchivan gas pipeline. It not only enables a reliable supply of natural gas to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR), but, thanks to its high capacity of up to 2 million cubic metres per day, could also potentially be used in reverse-flow mode in the future.

Impressive supply volumes and mutual investments

“Through the existing oil and gas infrastructure, Azerbaijan has so far supplied 561 million tonnes of oil and 196 billion cubic metres of gas to Türkiye and international markets in transit, including 40 billion cubic metres via the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP),” Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said at the 5th Azerbaijan–Türkiye Energy Forum. Gas supplies continue to grow at a strong pace: in the first eight months of 2026 alone, 6.2 billion cubic metres of gas was supplied to Türkiye, while 7.5 billion cubic metres was transited through Turkish territory to European countries, and 1 billion cubic metres of Azerbaijani gas was supplied to Syria.

Notably, the investment partnership between Baku and Ankara is also largely concentrated in the energy and oil refining sectors. In particular, the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) accounts for the lion’s share of Azerbaijani investment in the Turkish economy, with around $19 billion invested in the Petkim Petrokimya Holding complex in Izmir, the STAR Refinery, a container terminal, a power plant, as well as gas distribution infrastructure, including Kayserigaz and Bursagaz. More recently, SOCAR signed a new agreement to acquire a 100% stake in the 870-MW Gama Enerji İç Anadolu power plant in Türkiye for $225 million.

As for major Turkish portfolio investments, they extend into Azerbaijan’s upstream sector. Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı (TPAO), the Turkish state oil company, holds a 5.73% stake in the offshore Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli (ACG) field, and in June 2025 acquired a 30% stake in the Shafag–Asiman field.

Expanding horizons: from hydrocarbons to renewables

The Azerbaijan–Türkiye Energy Forum remains a key platform for the sustainable development of the energy partnership and for expanding it into new areas. The outcome of the latest meeting indicates that Baku and Ankara intend not only to continue work on traditional oil and gas projects, but also to significantly expand cooperation in transmission infrastructure and electricity exports, including by tapping into the potential of renewable energy sources (RES).

During talks between Parviz Shahbazov and Alparslan Bayraktar, the key role of joint energy projects in ensuring the energy security of the two brotherly countries and the wider region was emphasised. Against the backdrop of the transformation of the global energy architecture and the accelerating electrification of the region, the sides discussed the development of Azerbaijan–Türkiye electricity interconnectors via the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and Georgia, the establishment of green energy corridors, as well as opportunities for cooperation within the framework of the proposed Caspian–Black Sea–Europe energy cable project.

The Azerbaijani energy minister emphasised that the commissioning of the Iğdır–Nakhchivan gas pipeline, TPAO’s entry into the Shafag–Asiman project, the agreement to export part of the gas produced at the Absheron field to Türkiye, as well as the supply of Azerbaijani gas through Turkish territory to new European markets and Syria clearly demonstrate the growing scale and geographical reach of the energy partnership. In addition, the sides expressed their intention to deepen cooperation in petrochemicals, exchange expertise in energy efficiency and sectoral regulation, and establish joint ventures in mining and other sectors.

Developing new energy corridors

Cooperation in the electricity and renewable energy sectors appears to be the most promising area of partnership. It should be recalled that, to expand electricity exports to the Turkish and European markets, Azerenerji OJSC completed the modernisation of transmission infrastructure, including power lines and substations, in the western direction in 2015. As a result, the capacity of the Azerbaijan–Georgia–Türkiye energy bridge was increased to more than 700 MW. Since May 2019, Azerenerji has used the Turkish power grid to arrange swap-based electricity supplies to Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary along this route.

Alongside the further development of this route, new electricity transit projects through the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic are being implemented. Active efforts are underway there to commission 1.5 GW of wind and solar generation capacity. To this end, substations, power transmission lines and SCADA control centres are being modernised or newly built in Nakhchivan, as well as in the Karabakh and East Zangezur economic regions, with infrastructure designed to enable the export of 1–2 GW of predominantly green energy. In the liberated territories, the 330/110-kV Jabrayil substation has already been built, while the construction of a 255-kilometre transmission line to the western border is underway.

“Design work has been completed on the power transmission line from the Azerbaijani–Armenian border towards Nakhchivan, where land has already been allocated for the construction of a converter substation,” said forum participant Baba Rzayev, Chairman of the Board of Azerenerji OJSC. “The implementation of the energy component of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) will make it possible to connect Azerbaijan’s main power grid with the Nakhchivan power system and lay the groundwork for developing an electricity interconnection with Türkiye.”

In the longer term, under the TRIPP project, electricity will be supplied to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic’s power system through Armenia’s Syunik Province (Zangezur), where a substation of comparable capacity, the Shahtakhti substation, will be built. Another substation will then be constructed on the NAR–Türkiye border to convert the voltage from 330 kV to 400 kV, from where a 230-kilometre, double-circuit 400-kV transmission line will extend into Türkiye.

“Connecting Nakhchivan to Azerbaijan’s unified power system through the establishment of the Zangezur energy corridor will expand the prospects for regional cooperation in the electricity sector,” Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said. “Construction of the 330-kV Jabrayil–Aghband high-voltage transmission line, with a capacity of 1,000 MW, is already nearing completion.”

“Electric TANAP”: looking to the future

According to Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, preparatory work on the Türkiye–Azerbaijan–Nakhchivan electricity interconnector project is also at the final stage. “Additional feasibility studies being carried out by the system operators will make it possible to technically improve the project and accelerate its implementation.” Azerenerji OJSC is actively cooperating with Türkiye’s electricity transmission system operator, Türkiye Elektrik İletim A.Ş. (TEİAŞ), on the development of the new interconnector.

The Turkish energy minister added that an agreement on the project for the transmission and trade of green electricity will be signed at the COP31 summit in Antalya. The project, informally dubbed “Electric TANAP”, is intended to bring Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Bulgaria together on a single platform.