Georgia's Only Oil Refinery to Stop Processing Russian Crude

Black Sea Petroleum LLC (BSP), owner of Georgia’s only oil refinery, confirmed on Monday, Aug. 4, that it is implementing its plan to phase out Russian crude oil and switch to alternative sources. The Kulevi Oil Refinery began processing Kazakh-origin crude oil at the beginning of July, with processing of remaining volumes to continue in August, BSP said in a statement.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Under a crude oil supply agreement signed on July 3 with an international trading company, a cargo of Libyan-origin crude oil is expected to arrive at Kulevi between Aug. 20 and 30, BSP said. The agreement runs through the end of 2027 and includes an option to extend. EU sanctions prompted the shift The European Union added the Kulevi refinery to its 21st sanctions package in July, giving it until Jan. 25, 2027, to phase out Russian crude oil. At a press briefing on July 24, the European Commission said BSP was in active communication with the Commission and explained that the six-month transition period was intended to allow the refinery to diversify away from Russian crude. The Commission said the steps already taken by BSP were consistent with that objective and timeframe. The Kulevi refinery, which opened in October 2025, is Georgia’s first and only facility for domestic crude oil processing. It has an annual capacity of 1.2 million metric tons, with plans to expand to 4.5 million metric tons in a second phase. The refinery processed 650,000 metric tons of crude oil in the first half of 2026. Other Topics of Interest Russia May Target Water Supply This Winter, Kyiv Warns Shmyhal warned Russia could target Ukraine’s water supply this winter, saying surviving more than three days without water and sewage would be extremely difficult. themoscowtimes.comBSP first announced plans to stop processing Russian oil in March 2026, saying it would switch to feedstock from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.BSP said the shift away from Russian crude would “open doors to high-margin markets” for its products, including the EU.“The Company remains committed to operating in accordance with all applicable laws and regulatory requirements, strengthening its internal governance and controls, and contributing to Georgia’s economic development and energy security,” BSP said. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.