The Kulevi oil refinery in Georgia has begun transitioning to processing oil from Kazakhstan and Libya, abandoning Russian crude. The change in suppliers is linked to European Union requirements and the need to comply with the sanctions regime, reports infohub.kz.
According to the terminal operator Black Sea Petroleum, in July the plant already received and processed the first batch of Kazakh oil. Deliveries from Kazakhstan will continue in August.
The next step will be the start of oil supplies from Libya. According to the company's statement, the first batch is expected to arrive at the plant between August 20 and 30. The agreement on Libyan crude supplies was signed on July 3.
Black Sea Petroleum emphasized that it continues cooperation with the European Commission and regularly informs it about the progress of the supply diversification program.
The abandonment of Russian oil is due to EU sanctions. If the Kulevi refinery does not switch to alternative sources of crude, from January 25, 2027, the restrictions provided for by the 21st EU sanctions package will apply to the enterprise.
Earlier, Black Sea Petroleum had already stated its intention to stop processing Russian oil in August-September. The European Union demanded that the enterprise refuse to accept Russian crude to avoid sanctions.
In 2025, Kazakhstan supplied 76 million tons of oil to 29 countries worldwide. This was reported by the Telegram channel "Geostatistics".
The largest importer of Kazakh oil in 2025 was Italy – 1.29 million tons worth $15 billion. However, experts note that in reality Italy acts as a distribution hub, from where the crude is sent via pipelines to other European states. The actual largest buyer of Kazakh oil is Germany.
Recall that after attacks on the CPC and the closure of the marine terminal, oil production in Kazakhstan dropped to 1.63 million barrels per day compared to the average production level in July – 2.07 million barrels per day.