Georgia's Kulevi Refinery Shifts from Russian to Kazakh and Libyan Oil to Avoid EU Sanctions
Georgia's Kulevi Refinery has begun replacing Russian crude oil with supplies from Kazakhstan and Libya. This shift is part of an effort by the refinery's owner, Black Sea Petroleum, to comply with upcoming European Union sanctions that target the processing of Russian oil. The refinery processed Kazakh crude in July and plans to continue doing so in August, with a Libyan cargo expected later in the month. The EU's sanctions package, announced in July, gives the refinery until January 2027 to fully transition away from Russian oil. The refinery, which began operations in October 2025, has a processing capacity of 1.2 million metric tons annually, with plans to expand to 4.5 million tons. 
