State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Hanning is suspected of maintaining highly inappropriate ties with Nikolai Patrushev, who is a central figure in Vladimir Putin's inner circle, while simultaneously maintaining deep ties with Azerbaijan.

And the mechanism connecting this to the broader crisis is SOCAR, Azerbaijan's state-owned energy company.

Right.

Because with Russian gas piped to Europe largely severed and Middle Eastern oil choked by the Iran conflict, Europe is just scrambling to keep the lights on, and Azerbaijan is one of the only viable alternatives.

Azerbaijan's government has issued instructions to key state institutions following discussions on modernizing oil refining and petrochemical infrastructure.

The Economic Council, chaired by Prime Minister Ali Asadov, reviewed proposals involving state energy company SOCAR and Azerbaijan Investment Holding.

However, officials have not disclosed specific projects, investment amounts, or implementation deadlines.

For an economy closely linked to oil production, upgrading refining and petrochemical facilities could strengthen domestic processing capabilities.

That sounds deliberate because it was.

When I took the overnight posting, I gave the shift supervisor, Preston Hamilton, my SOCAR employment number and a first name, and he wrote it down without asking anything else.

Preston's that kind of man.

He trained me on the emergency procedures in about forty minutes, shook my hand, and left me to it.

Heavy set, upright even when he's clearly exhausted, that steel gray hair.

He'd come through on compliance checks twice in the two years I'd been here, and both times he'd carried himself with the practiced efficiency of someone who'd been doing the job long enough that the paperwork was automatic.

He had the laminated SOCAR badge clipped to the front of his jacket.

Same jacket both times.

But essentially it means they have the right to make a decision and it is not able to be vetoed for any reason.

So their decision recently has been to cap the prices at $1.99 and $2.19. IP is another chain of gas stations owned by an Azerbaijani oil company.

They have also decided to cap their prices.

They have not released yet what that cap is.

Their investor day on November 16th is going to be the next catalyst.

Comstock announces signing of framework agreement for the $1.65 billion strategic partnership with Socar, which we covered in the full article last week.

Disney director of AI enablement, Enablement is seeking a director of AI enablement after warning of layoffs amid company-wide AI push.

And they laid off several hundred people this week, cutting costs and increasing cash flow.

Italy's major fuel retailers introduced price caps amid energy crisis.

Two of Italy's largest fuel retailers, Eni and Socar-controlled Italiana Petroli, have begun limiting petrol and diesel prices as Middle East disruption increases pressure on household budgets.

Eni's initial 30-day measure caps petrol at €1.99 per litre and diesel at €2.19, with IP progressively introducing matching limits.

Together, the companies account for approximately 36% of Italy's self-service fuel station network.

Azerbaijan has brought ExxonMobil into the Middle Kura Basin under a new 50-50 production sharing agreement, with the U.S. company taking operatorship of exploration and potential unconventional hydrocarbon production.

At the same investment forum, SOCAR, XRG, and Total Energies reached a final investment decision on the full-field expansion of the Absharan gas condensate field, including additional wells and processing infrastructure.

The two agreements combine a new exploration partnership with the expansion of an existing gas resource.

Together, they show how Azerbaijan is continuing to attract international energy expertise while developing its role as a regional gas supplier and investment destination.

For further information, see SOCAR, Acer News, APA and Reuters.

HMS Agamemnon, the sixth of seven astute-class attack submarines, has left BAE Systems' shipyard at Barrow and Furness to begin sea trials.

The nuclear-powered, conventionally armed vessel will undergo testing and training before joining the operational fleet, with roles including anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, and precision strike.

And, uh, but the oil money, like, business loves stability.

So war was gone and oil money was flowing into Azerbaijan, and that's how the Aliyev, who was already the current president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, who was already the president of SOCAR, the state's company that deals with Azerbaijani oil, uh, he became the, uh, prime minister and the president.

And I was 10 back then.

And there was a huge protest against him.