Georgia’s only oil refinery has begun replacing Russian crude with supplies from Kazakhstan and Libya as owner Black Sea Petroleum races to avoid European Union sanctions that will go into effect in January.
The Kulevi refinery received and processed Kazakh crude in July and will continue taking Kazakh barrels during August, Black Sea Petroleum said Monday, as reported by Interfax news agency. A Libyan cargo is due to arrive between August 20 and August 30 under a supply agreement signed with an unnamed international company on July 3.
The Libyan contract runs through the end of 2027 and includes an extension option.
Black Sea Petroleum plans to eliminate Russian crude from the refinery’s feedstock by early September, bringing forward a diversification program that previously included Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
The European Union imposed a transaction ban on Kulevi in its 21st sanctions package on July 23, targeting the refinery’s processing of Russian oil. The restriction carries a six-month delay, giving the company until January 25, 2027, to document a complete switch to non-Russian supplies. EU officials said the refinery could be removed from the sanctions list after the European Commission verifies compliance.
Kulevi began operating in October 2025 with an annual processing capacity of 1.2 million metric tons. The refinery processed more than 650,000 tons during the first half of 2026, already exceeding half of its first-phase annual capacity. A planned second phase would raise capacity to 4.5 million tons per year.
The refinery had received six Russian crude shipments between October 2025 and May 2026. Cargoes of refined products from Kulevi later reached Spain and Bulgaria, prompting scrutiny over whether Russian crude was entering Western markets after processing in Georgia.
Black Sea Petroleum’s first Kazakh and Libyan purchases provide the physical evidence Brussels demanded before reconsidering the sanctions listing.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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