Alkagesta

Alkagesta is a global commodity trading house headquartered in Sliema, Malta.^[1] Founded in 2018, the company specializes in the trading of petroleum products, fertilizers, and biofuels. Alkagesta also engages in spot trading of petrochemicals, agricultural commodities, and metals, selectively capturing market opportunities within Alkagesta trading strategy and risk framework.^[2] It operates worldwide, with major offices in Malta, Geneva, London, Dubai, and Singapore,^[3] and is one of the largest Malta-based trading firms with annual revenues over €3 billion.^[2]

Alkagesta is a global commodity trading company established in Malta in 2018. Founded by a group of individuals led by Orkhan Rustamov, the company was created with the objective of building a global commodity trading company. Initial seed capital was provided by Kamran Agayev, who served as a passive shareholder.^[4] From inception, the company’s management team was responsible for originating, initiating, and steering all aspects of the business and organizational development. In its first year of operations, Alkagesta began connecting Mediterranean maritime hubs with landlocked regions through optimized logistics. By 2019, the company launched a fertilizer trading desk, marking its expansion beyond hydrocarbons into agricultural inputs. Following the IMO 2020 regulations on marine fuel sulfur content, the company began supplying 0.5% Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil (VLSFO).^[5] It also secured fuel storage infrastructure, such as strategic tank capacity in Turkiye. In 2021, Alkagesta established a leading position in marine fuel operations across Malta, Greece, and Türkiye, marking a significant phase in its regional consolidation strategy. That year marked the launch of Alkagesta’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agenda, beginning with the publication of its first ESG report. Additionally, Alkagesta launched a structured approach to arbitrage trading, targeting price differentials across key regions, and executed its first fuel cargoes to the East of Suez, expanding its global trading footprint.^[6]

Between 2022 and 2023, Alkagesta secured storage capacities at the EVOS terminal in Malta, strengthening its logistical infrastructure in Central Europe. This development supported greater supply diversification and facilitated expanded trading relationships with North African markets. In 2024, Alkagesta entered the Amsterdam–Rotterdam–Antwerp (ARA) hub through arbitrage trading between Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean. During this period, the company expanded its trading volumes in middle distillates and diversified heavy ends grades.^[2]

In 2025, Alkagesta initiated the supply of 0.1% ultra-low sulfur fuel oil (ULSFO) across the Central and Eastern Mediterranean market, in alignment with IMO 2025 Mediterranean regulations. The company also secured strategic storage capacities at the Horizon terminal in Singapore, supporting its expansion into Asian markets. During this period, Alkagesta broadened its trading footprint in light ends—specifically naphtha and gasoline—by leveraging Mediterranean flows and optimizing regional logistics. It also opened a dedicated biofuels trading desk in Geneva, Switzerland, to support low-carbon energy initiatives.^[7]

Alkagesta is active in physical commodity trading, sourcing and delivering commodities across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The company secures storage capacities at strategic hubs and charters a fleet of vessels. As of 2025, Alkagesta has access to over 700,000 cubic meters of petroleum storage across Europe and Asia, and trades more than 7 million metric tonnes of commodity flows annually. The company handles both land-based and marine shipments. It charters liquid tankers and dry bulk vessels for seaborne transport, and uses rail, and trucking. Key trading operations include meeting supply / demand imbalances for  petroleum products, fertilizer and biofuels. Alkagesta’s Geneva biofuels desk coordinates the trading of renewable fuels and feedstocks.^[6]

Alkagesta maintains a network of 28 international banking partners that support its trading activities through trade finance operations, providing liquidity across global markets. Alkagesta has direct access to the ICE and NYMEX exchanges, as well as over-the-counter (OTC) swap markets. The company utilizes clearing accounts to manage market and counterparty risk, supporting its trading operations across physical and paper markets.^[8][9]

By the early 2020s, the company became one of the highest-revenue enterprises in Malta. Alkagesta recorded annual sales of approximately €2.075 billion.^[10] In terms of trade volume, Alkagesta handled over 7 million tons of commodities in 2024.^[11]

The company’s headquarters are in Sliema, Malta. It operates globally through a network of subsidiaries and representative offices worldwide. Alkagesta established offices in major commodity hubs: Geneva, Switzerland; London, United Kingdom; Istanbul, Turkey; Bucharest, Romania; Dubai, UAE; and Singapore.^[12]  The company has 17 offices and representations globally and conducts trade in 42 countries.^[13][14] As of 2025, the firm employs about 150 people worldwide.^[15]

Alkagesta's core business is in energy products, including refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, naphtha, jet, diesel, marine bunker fuels, and intermediate oil feedstocks. The company diversified throughout the years into fertilizers (such as urea and sulphur), and biofuels. In the early 2020s, Alkagesta invested into biofuels  and established a specialized desk for biofuels trading: including  renewable feedstocks and biodiesel. Alkagesta is active in the marine sector, particularly in the Mediterranean, supplying bunkering companies low-sulfur marine fuels.^[16]

Alkagesta is organized as a privately held limited company (Ltd) in Malta, with a network of international subsidiaries. To align with European Union, United States, United Kingdom, Swiss, and United Nations regulations on international trade, Alkagesta has established a compliance framework intended to address the regulatory requirements of the oil and commodity trading sectors, which can be subject to sanctions and export controls. The company implements due diligence procedures designed to prevent transactions with sanctioned entities and applies policies such as vessel vetting and trade finance safeguards to meet legal and safety standards.^[17] Alkagesta also engages independent auditors and legal advisors to monitor compliance with anti-money laundering (AML), know-your-customer (KYC), and sanction-screening obligations.^[18]

Alkagesta Environmental initiatives have focused on supporting the energy transition and reducing the carbon footprint of its operations. The company published its first ESG report in 2021.^[19] Alkagesta invested in a used cooking oil (UCO) recycling program as a renewable fuel project. In 2022, it financed the establishment of a UCO recycling plant, aiming to convert waste cooking oil into biofuel feedstock. By 2024, Alkagesta had collected and processed over 1.6 million kilograms of used cooking oil through its network, repurposing it into low-carbon diesel additives.^[20] The company also set up a dedicated sustainable fuels trading desk (integrated with the Geneva biofuels desk) to handle biofuels and other alternative energy commodities.^[21] It obtained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC EU) to ensure traceability and sustainability compliance in its biofuel supply chain.^[22]

Alkagesta aligns its product strategy with global emissions regulations, including  supplying VLSFO and ULSFO to the shipping industry to reduce sulfur emissions from maritime transport. The company monitors its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and has reported annual carbon footprints in its ESG disclosures.

It has implemented employee training programs, including partnerships with institutions such as Harvard Business School and MIT for executive education. It also support for local initiatives in the regions where it operates, focusing on education and environmental awareness.^[23]

The company established an internal ESG committee to track progress on sustainability goals and KPI’s, and it publishes metrics on ESG performance in areas like emissions reduction, waste management, and staff training hours.^[24]

• Commodity trading
• Petroleum industry

• Official website