Kulevi Oil Refinery, the sole oil processing facility in Georgia, is set to cease the processing of Russian crude oil by August or September of this year.

This announcement was made by Black Sea Petroleum, the company that operates the refinery.

Black Sea Petroleum believes that this strategic move will enable its products to access more profitable global markets. According to official reports, during the first half of 2026, the refinery processed over 650,000 tons of oil.

European Restrictions

Earlier, the general director of the company, David Potkhveria, indicated that Russian oil would be replaced with supplies from other regions.

Initially, the refinery will utilize crude oil from Turkmenistan, with plans to subsequently incorporate materials from Kazakhstan and other countries.

The enterprise leader emphasized that this decision is closely tied to the current import ban by the European Union on oil products refined from Russian crude.

Sanction Risks and Tbilisi's Commitments

This past February, the European Union considered imposing sanctions on the oil terminal in Kulevi due to the transit and transportation of Russian crude oil.

Subsequently, the European Commission announced that the Georgian authorities had made concrete commitments. The official stance from Tbilisi is to prevent tankers linked to the Russian Federation from entering its maritime terminals.

It’s noteworthy that there have been prior reports of India's request to the United States concerning the situation stemming from the Gulf War.