According to the National Statistical Service of Georgia (Sakstat), in the first 4th of 2025 the cost of buying Russian gas for the first time in almost 2 decades exceeded the cost of Azerbaijani gas.
According to information published on the Sakstat website, from January to March Georgia paid for Russian gas $10.6 million, while for Azerbaijani gas – $82.4 million.
Data on the quantity of gas supplied are not published on the website.
By 2007, Russia was the only natural gas supplier to Georgia. However, after the launch of the Baku–Tbilisi–Erzurum gas pipeline (under the Chess-Deniz project) and the August War in 2008 Georgia began to focus on the Azerbaijani market.
Statistics on gas import costs published by Sakstat since 2009 show that Russian gas has never been more costly to Georgia than Azerbaijani gas since then. For example, in the first quarters of 2018 and 2019, Russia's share of imported gas was only 4.4% and 4.3% respectively. In the first 4th of 2024, the cost of Azerbaijani gas was $33.3 million and Russian was $84.5 million.
In fresh years Russian gas purchases have increased again. The Ministry of Economy stated that gas purchased from Gazprom is utilized exclusively in the commercial sector and that gas supply to the population is not dependent on supplies from Russia.
Georgia had previously received 10% of the Russian gas volume sent to Armenia as a transit charge. Later, under force from Gazprom Export, the parties revised the terms of the contract – its details are not disclosed due to commercial secrecy. However, as Eho Kavkaz wrote in 2024, on the basis of information provided by the regulatory committee, the price of Russian gas was estimated at around $180 per 1000 cubic meters.
Source: ekhokavkaza.com
Study Bulletin: BIS
