Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR increased drilling by 74.3% in the third quarter of 2026 to 21,176 meters. At the same time, natural gas processing declined 16.9%, while exports of oil, petrochemical and gas-chemical products rose 2.8%.
The figures are contained in SOCAR’s quarterly drilling, production, processing and export update, Vesti Baku reported.
Production and Exports
Fields operated independently by SOCAR or in which it is the principal shareholder produced about 1.7 million metric tons of oil and 1.7 billion cubic meters of gas during the quarter.
Total production in Azerbaijan amounted to 6.59 million tons of oil and 12.47 billion cubic meters of gas. SOCAR exported about 3.92 million tons of oil, including its own production and the shares belonging to the state and the company from projects operated by international consortia.
Azerbaijan’s natural gas exports exceeded 5.74 billion cubic meters, while domestic consumption was about 2.27 billion cubic meters.
Gas Processing Declined
SOCAR processed 1.627 million tons of crude oil in July-September, 3.2% less than a year earlier. Gas processing totaled 631.7 million cubic meters, down 128.4 million cubic meters, or 16.9%.
Meanwhile, the company’s facilities exported 657,400 tons of oil, petrochemical and gas-chemical products. That was an increase of 18,200 tons, or 2.8%, from the third quarter of 2025.
The divergent figures show that higher drilling does not immediately translate into a comparable increase in processing during the same quarter. The indicators cover different stages of the production chain and depend on the timing of new wells, plant utilization and the composition of supplies.
Source: Vesti Baku; AZERTAC; Report.