BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. The STAR oil refinery, operated by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), near the Turkish port of Aliaga, has increased its purchase of CPC (Caspian Pipeline Consortium) Blend oil from Russian Lukoil company, produced from Lukoil's Caspian deposits, Trend reports, referring to Kpler international analytical company.
"In December 2023, Türkiye imported record-breaking volumes of oil from Russian Baltic ports, reaching 444,000 barrels per day (compared to 432,000 barrels per day in November). About 70 percent of these volumes were shipped to Aliaga port for the needs of the STAR refinery," Kpler said.
Experts from this analytical structure, tracking the daily dynamics, said that Russian oil exports to Türkiye in January will also exceed 400,000 barrels per day.
"Russian deliveries to Türkiye sharply increased from October 2023 when Lukoil began shipments of CPC Blend oil from Lukoil's Caspian deposits to the Türkiye STAR refinery. Russian oil is sold in Türkiye at a discount, and Turkish refineries take advantage of this," Kpler analysts said.
The STAR refinery has been operating since 2018, processing 11 million tons of oil per year from ten different grades. In 2024, its capacity is planned to be increased to 13 million tons per year.
