Apollo Eyes Bigger Role Financing SOCAR Energy Projects After TANAP Deal

Apollo Global Management, one of the world's largest alternative asset managers, is in talks to finance large-scale energy projects in Azerbaijan and abroad with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), a senior Apollo executive said in New York this week.

Jamshid Ehsani, Head of Global Principal Structured Finance at Apollo, made the remarks at the Caspian Policy Center's seventh annual Caspian Business Forum, Trend reported on September 24.

From one stake to a broader partnership

The comments build on an agreement signed during Baku Energy Week in June. Under that deal, Apollo acquired a minority, non-controlling stake in the holding company that owns SOCAR Türkiye's 7% interest in TANAP, the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline. The parties also signed a memorandum of understanding that raised existing TANAP-related financing to $300 million and committed them to explore financing for other SOCAR Group assets.

Ehsani described the SOCAR relationship as a developing strategic partnership and said discussions now cover energy projects inside Azerbaijan and internationally. No project names or deal sizes were disclosed.

"Right type of capital"

Ehsani argued that the region's constraint is not the volume of money available. "The main barrier is not the availability of capital. It is the right type of capital [and] the right investment structure," he said, adding that Apollo can mobilise long-term insurance capital for the region if deals are structured correctly.

He also pointed to critical minerals in Central Asia as a supply source for Western digital infrastructure, electrification and defence, and stressed de-risking tools that remove the "binary" risk that often keeps institutional capital away from frontier projects.

Why it matters

• SOCAR has been expanding abroad – from Italy's fuel retail market to US shale gas and West African offshore oil – and needs funding sources beyond its own balance sheet and state support.
• Insurance-backed private credit of the kind Apollo manages typically seeks long-dated, contracted cash flows – a good fit for pipelines, midstream assets and power projects.
• A deeper Apollo relationship would give SOCAR another channel to Western capital at a time when Azerbaijan is positioning itself as a transit and energy hub on the Middle Corridor.

For now the talks remain at the discussion stage. Investors should watch for a second transaction following the TANAP template, which would signal the partnership is scaling beyond a single asset.

Further Reading

• Fitch Affirms SOCAR at BBB- and Sees AZN 4bn Annual Capex to 2030
• Masdar and SOCAR Green Close Financing on 760MW of Azerbaijani Solar

Photo: Unsplash (illustrative)