Azerbaijan’s SOCAR signs $1.65 billion US gas deal with Comstock

Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR signed a final purchase agreement with US energy company Comstock on 4 November 2026 for natural gas production and infrastructure interests. The transaction is valued at $1.65 billion, subject to customary purchase price adjustments.

The deal follows SOCAR’s acquisition of a 99.82% stake in Italian energy company Italiana Petroli, completed in May 2026. The US purchase has not yet been completed: it still needs government approvals and other legal procedures.

What the agreement covers

OC Media said pro-government outlet APA reported that SOCAR and Comstock signed the agreement on 4 November 2026. The deal provides for SOCAR to acquire a 20% stake in the Legacy Haynesville project’s upstream assets and a 15% stake in Western Haynesville’s upstream assets. Upstream assets are used to explore for and produce gas.

Haynesville is a major US shale gas-producing region. Its gas-bearing rock formation extends beneath parts of southwestern Arkansas, northwestern Louisiana and East Texas.

The agreement also includes 15% of Comstock’s 73% interest in Pinnacle Gas Services LLC, equivalent to approximately 10.95% of Pinnacle’s total ownership. SOCAR would not receive operational management rights in Pinnacle.

Conditions and next steps

SOCAR’s Western Haynesville exploration and production stake is to fall to 7.5% after five years, once SOCAR has achieved a 15% return on its investment in those assets. The transaction’s effective date is 1 July 2026.

The parties are still awaiting approval from the relevant government authorities and completion of the remaining legal procedures.