Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR is expanding its footprint in Italy beyond oil and gas, entering a long-term partnership with the country’s national football teams and joining efforts to cap fuel prices at its Italian petrol stations.

The moves come as Azerbaijan and Italy seek to deepen economic ties beyond their longstanding energy partnership. SOCAR’s growing presence in Italy follows its acquisition of energy operator Italiana Petroli in 2026. Baku and Rome are also pursuing cooperation in investment, industry, transport, connectivity and technology.

On 26 September, SOCAR and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) signed an agreement under which the Azerbaijani company will become the global energy partner of Italy’s national football teams from January 2027 until December 2030, with an option to extend the partnership until 2032.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum in Baku.

On 28 September, SOCAR also agreed to match fuel price caps introduced by Italy’s Eni, setting the price of diesel at €2,19 ($2.49) per litre and petrol at €1.99 ($2.26) per litre at participating IP stations. The move came as the Italian government seeks to contain rising fuel costs. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the companies’ measures and i also thanked Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on X for the decision.

Energy continues to form the backbone of Azerbaijan–Italy economic relations. Italy is Azerbaijan’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching approximately $12 billion in 2025, according to Aliyev.

Azerbaijan exported 25 billion cubic metres of natural gas in 2025, of which 9.5 billion cubic metres went to Italy. The gas is transported through the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), a key part of the Southern Gas Corridor. Baku and Rome have discussed increasing gas supplies to Italy and further expanding TAP.

Azerbaijan also remains a major supplier of crude oil to Italy. According to Azerbaijan’s Energy Ministry, Italy received 10.34 million tonnes of Azerbaijani oil and 9.5 billion cubic metres of gas in 2025.

As of January 2026, TAP had transported 54.3 billion cubic metres of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, including 45.4 billion cubic metres to Italy.

During Meloni’s visit to Baku in May, Aliyev said the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan had invested approximately $3 billion in the Italian economy and that the two sides were discussing directing additional investments towards new projects. He also said around 130 Italian companies were operating in Azerbaijan and that Italian companies were involved in 23 projects in Nagorno-Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur.

Meloni said during the visit that an Azerbaijan–Italy business forum was planned for the second half of 2026 in Baku. She said the forum was intended to turn the countries’ political cooperation into concrete opportunities for companies and workers, adding that energy was ‘not the only field’ of cooperation.

The two countries have also identified connectivity as an area for further cooperation. Italy has presented itself as a potential gateway for Azerbaijan to European and Mediterranean markets, while Baku has sought to strengthen its role as a transport and energy link between Europe and Asia.