| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Commodity trading |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Headquarters | Malta |
Key people | Orkhan Rustamov |
| Products | Petroleum and Steel products, Fertilizers, and Biofuels |
| Website | Alkagesta |
Alkagesta is a global commodity trading company headquartered in Sliema, Malta, with operations across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. [1] Founded in 2018, the company specializes in trading petroleum products, fertilizers, and biofuels. Alkagesta also engages in spot trading of petrochemicals, agricultural commodities, and metals. [2] It operates worldwide with offices in Malta, Geneva, London, Dubai, and Singapore. [3] With annual revenues reported at over €3 billion, it has been described as one of the largest commodity trading firms based in Malta. [2]
Alkagesta was founded in 2018 in Malta by Orkhan Rustamov and an initial team of eleven professionals with backgrounds in trading, logistics and finance. [4] In its early years the company focused on petroleum trading and marine bunkering in Mediterranean ports. [5]
During the early 2020s Alkagesta expanded into Asian markets, particularly Singapore, where it grew bunkering and marine-fuel logistics operations. [6] To support trading activity, Alkagesta secured trade-finance facilities including a US$15 million inventory credit facility with FIMBank. [7]
The company participates in sector organisations including the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) and Suissenegoce, Switzerland’s national commodity trading association. [8] In November 2025 Alkagesta and Navex announced the creation of a joint venture, Alkavex, aimed at expanding into metals trading. [9] In 2026 media reporting described arrangements under which Alkagesta would supply jet fuel through the NATO Central European Pipeline System (CEPS) to several European airports. [10]
Alkagesta operates as a physical commodity trading company combining trading activities with logistics infrastructure and trade-finance arrangements. [11] Its trading portfolio includes petroleum and steel products, fertilizers and biofuels. The company incorporated Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO), introduced under International Maritime Organization regulations in 2020, into its marine-fuel trading portfolio. [12] Alkagesta has also developed activities in circular feedstocks and waste-based biofuel supply chains. [13]
In 2024, Levent Kenez, a journalist with Nordic Monitor, reported a Turkish businessman's allegations that Alkagesta and other companies had misrepresented Libyan oil shipments as Turkish oil. [14] A columnist for Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet also noted the allegations. [15] In 2025, BBC News Azeri and bne IntelliNews reported that former SOCAR executive Adnan Ahmadzada is a family member of the head of Alkagesta, but Alkagesta denied any connection. [16] [17] Romanian newspaper Gândul also published allegations, first reported by The Maltese Herald, that Alkagesta had been involved in smuggling oil from Russia to evade Western sanctions on Russia; Alkagesta denied the allegations. [18]