BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 2. Kazakhstan's
crude oil has been processed at Black Sea Petroleum's Kulevi Oil
Refinery in Georgia as part of the company's transition to
non-Russian feedstock, Black Sea Petroleum LLC said.
"Black Sea Petroleum’s Kulevi Oil Refinery has been processing
exclusively non-Russian feedstock, successfully completing its
switch away from Russian-origin crude oil. This followed a
transition period during July and the first three weeks of August,
when the refinery processed Kazakh crude oil alongside Russian
crude oil", the statement reads.
The company noted that on August 30, the vessel KRITI LEGEND
arrived at the Port of Kulevi carrying Black Sea Petroleum's first
shipment of Libyan crude oil. The cargo, of up to 90,000 tons, was
supplied under a long-term agreement signed on July 3.
Black Sea Petroleum said the shipment marked another step in the
implementation of its feedstock diversification plan.
The Kulevi Oil Refinery is located at the Kulevi Oil Terminal on
Georgia's Black Sea coast. On July 1, 2026, Black Sea Petroleum
announced that it would begin refining crude oil of entirely
non-Russian origin in August-September 2026.
At a press briefing on July 24, 2026, the European Commission
declared that Black Sea Petroleum 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 oil. The company said the steps already taken by Black Sea
Petroleum are consistent with that objective and timeframe.
In the first half of 2026, Black Sea Petroleum processed more
than 650,000 tons of feedstock.
