Thirty years ago, Azerbaijan was a country importing electricity and natural gas, with a poverty rate above 50 per cent and nearly a million internally displaced people. This week, it is hosting the 31st Baku Energy Week, one of the calendar's most consequential energy gatherings, with 274 companies from 44 countries, a signed letter from the US president, and a freshly completed $3.27bn acquisition of a major Italian downstream platform. The dichotomy reflects the change that has been taking place not only for the Azerbaijani economy but also for the European energy structure.

This year’s edition, which is taking place at the Baku Expo Center, has grown well beyond its initial purpose of serving as an exposition for Caspian hydrocarbons. It sets out the aspirations of the country under consideration from three different angles: securing additional natural gas supplies for the European Union that continues to be structurally dependent on sources other than Russia; the move towards renewable energy and electricity transfer; and a new stage in down-streaming that involves the participation of state capital from Azerbaijan within Europe.

You may ask, "What has changed this year?" "What is Baku bringing to the table in 2026?"

Key metrics follow as:

- 16 countries are receiving Azerbaijani gas, an increase from 12 countries a year ago.

- 3.72 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Azerbaijani gas were delivered to Europe via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) between January and April 2026.

- The target for solar and wind capacity is set at 8 gigawatts (GW) by the end of 2032.

- SOCAR completed the acquisition of Italiana Petroli for $3.27 billion in May 2026.

Gas corridor that Europe now depends on...

It has become a certain trend to use this phrase, as we have been emphasizing over the years that the centrepiece of Azerbaijan's energy story remains the Southern Gas Corridor. 3,500-kilometre integrated pipeline system stretching from the Caspian to southern Italy that has become Europe's most operationally significant non-Russian gas route.

As per the information given by the TAP AG consortium, as many as 3.72 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijan gas had been transported to Europe through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline within just the first four months of 2026. It is to be noted that today ten EU countries get their gas from Azerbaijan. Yet, capacity limitations represent an ever-growing challenge for the pipeline. As acknowledged by the Azerbaijani government, the Southern Gas Corridor is currently fully loaded. Instead of opting for an EU-wide extension of the gas pipeline project, Azerbaijan........

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