Today, the first commercial batch of petroleum products was sent from Azerbaijan to Armenia — 22 railway wagons with AI-95 gasoline produced by SOCAR. According to media reports, the supply is exclusively commercial in nature. The export agreement was reached on November 28 at a meeting in Gabala, where the Deputy Prime Ministers of the two countries, Mher Grigoryan and Shahin Mustafayev, held negotiations.
The base price of AI-95 gasoline in Azerbaijan is about $0.65 per liter. Even if it turns out to be slightly lower than the retail price for export, transportation by rail, logistics and handling will add approximately $0.10. Thus, at the border, the cost of fuel may be about $0.75 per liter.
After import into Armenia, taxes and fees are added to the price — VAT, customs duties and processing, which increases the cost by another 20–30%. As a result, the price of gasoline to gas stations may reach $0.90–1.00 per liter, and taking into account the margin of wholesalers and gas stations — $1.10–1.30, or approximately 420–495 drams. This means that Azerbaijani gasoline is unlikely to become a "cheap breakthrough": at most, price parity or a moderate decrease compared to current prices of about 520 drams per liter.
