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Azerbaijan’s state-run oil and gas company Socar has agreed to acquire Gama Enerji’s 870-megawatt combined-cycle power plant in Türkiye’s central province of Kirikkale at the Second Azerbaijan-Türkiye Investment Forum in Baku.
The ceremony was attended by Türkiye’s Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov. The agreement was signed by SOCAR President Rovshan Najaf and Gama Enerji Chairman Ahmet Hakan Ozman.
The acquisition covers Gama Enerji’s full stake in its subsidiary Icanadolu Dogalgaz Elektrik Uretim ve Ticaret A.S. and its namesake power plant for a $225 million fee, according to Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov’s earlier statement on Monday.
The power station is a combined-cycle plant that uses both gas and steam turbines to increase efficiency and electricity output and is one of the larger gas-fired facilities in Central Anatolia.
According to the Russian outlet Interfax, Gama Enerji reported in May that it had received a non-binding offer from Socar Türkiye valued between $225 million and $250 million and was prepared to move forward with talks.
For Socar Türkiye, the acquisition is described as a step toward expanding its presence in Türkiye’s growing electricity market and providing another way to monetize energy assets at a time of regional oversupply.
SOCAR is Türkiye’s largest foreign direct investor, with $18 billion in combined investments since 2008, largely concentrated in petrochemicals. The company owns a 51% stake in Petkim, a Turkish petrochemical producer it bought for around $2 billion in 2008, and it also built the Star Refinery in 2018 with a $6.3 billion investment.
The company had previously unveiled plans to add $7 billion to its portfolio in the country as part of its broader expansion strategy.
Founded in 2002, Gama Enerji is an Ankara-based energy company jointly owned by Gama Holding (50.5%), Malaysian electricity company Tenaga Nasional Berhad (30%) and the World Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, along with its subsidiary (19.5%).
Speaking at the event, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said that direct international investments from Türkiye into Azerbaijan have reached around $18 billion, while Azerbaijani investments in Türkiye are close to $21 billion, noting that there is a clear relationship between investment and trade.
Emphasizing that stronger bilateral investments help create a more stable foundation for commercial ties, Yilmaz invited investors from both countries to increase their engagement.
"Please invest more and strengthen cooperation," he said. "Do not limit yourselves to mutual investments alone; work together in third countries as well. We call for this, and we expect this. Let us increase our bilateral investments but also carry out joint ventures in other markets."
A day earlier, Türkiye and Azerbaijan signed the 12th Joint Economic Commission (JEC) protocol, outlining a 110-point action plan covering energy, trade, investments and tourism toward a bilateral trade volume of $15 billion.
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